Port Blair, July 30: Besides door to door provisioning of the basic necessity of milk and milk products throughout the lock-down period and beyond, it has delivered in a major way to the care and management of COVID-19 patients by providing cooked food free of cost.  ANIIDCO has catered to the needs of the frontline Corona warriors and has worked for long hours in preparing food in its newly setup Community Kitchen for those on duty during the lockdown phase and beyond.

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) expenditure to the tune of ₹ 84 lakhs has been incurred in setting up the Community Kitchen and supplying cooked food packets to COVID-19 patients and on-duty Corona-warriors so far. Over 83,000 food packets have been provided to Health Department and Office of Deputy Commissioner, South Andaman to cater the needs.  

Besides these two major departments, food supply was also made to Department of Civil Supplies, PBMC, APWD, Electricity, Transport and Disaster Management.

These efforts kept the frontline warriors on a sound-footing and helped them to focus on their duties without having to think about leaving duty for having meals at home.

Unlike mainland, where COVID-19 patients are incurring the cost of institutional quarantine, in A & N, ANIIDCO has borne all such expenditure for the COVID-19 patients by providing free accommodation and food to those quarantined at ANIIDCO operated Megapode Resort and Hornbill Nest Resort.

The financial assistance towards the cost of managing quarantined people at the Circuit House, South Point and SAI Hostel has also been borne by ANIIDCO under its Corporate Social Responsibility.  Over ₹ 10 lakhs have been provided by ANIIDCO for providing food to over 400 Islanders who benefitted from these institutional quarantine centres.

ANIIDCO has also provided financial assistance to the tune of ₹ 2 lakhs for undertaking emergent transportation of medical equipments related to COVID-19, from Delhi to Andaman and Nicobar.

The expenditure under Corporate Social Responsibility for the COVID-19 situation in Andaman and Nicobar exemplifies that ANIIDCO committedly strives to stand firmly with the people of A & N in the common fight against pandemic, a release from ANIIDCO said here.