New Delhi: More than 1,000 locations serving food to the poor across Delhi are now visible on the Google Map, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said on Tuesday.
Kejriwal said as the government prepares for an extended lockdown, they are “proud to work together with Google India Maps in ensuring easy accessibility of all our food and night shelters.”
“We are committed to do everything possible to make life easy for those most affected by the lockdown,” the Chief Minister said.
On Tuesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that the lockdown due to coronavirus will be extended till May 3.
According to the Delhi government, cooked food — lunch and dinner — are being distributed at more than 2,700 locations across the city to about seven lakh people per day.
The epidemic has not only created a public health emergency situation but also a humanitarian crisis as millions of workers, especially in the informal sector, have lost their source of livelihood.
The Delhi government announced relief measures for people affected by loss of income and shelter.
The government, with the support of a team of volunteers and researchers, has now mapped all such relief shelters.
It has partnered with Google to display the locations of 1,047 food and night shelters initially on Google Maps, with more being added every day.
“Anyone can now easily search for their nearest Delhi Government Food Centre by tapping ‘Food Shelter’ on Google maps app or searching for ‘Food Shelters near me’ on the search box.
The government has also partnered with Map My India and these locations are available on Map My India’s COVID-19 guide at https://maps.mapmyindia.com/corona and Move app,” the government said in a statement.
Google India in its statement on Twitter said food and night shelters can now be found in Delhi and 32 other cities to help those in need. “Please spread the word and help this message reach them.”
In March, just days after the lockdown was impose, the government made public the list (https://t.co/1Eojn2rxBf) and the map locations (https://t.co/2OKT49DSRV) for helping people to spot the food and night shelters.
“If you know any person who’s looking for food, please direct them to one of these centres,” the government said.