IHCL exceeds 1 million meals offered to healthcare providers and migrant workers

Indian Hotels Company (IHCL) announced that it had crossed the milestone of over 1 million meals distributed to healthcare providers and migrant workers affected by the spread of COVID-19 in Mumbai, New Delhi, Bangalore, Coimbatore and Agra.

The initiative which began on March 23 has been spearheaded by the Taj Public Service Welfare Trust (TPSWT), with majority of the meals being prepared by its airline catering company TajSATS.

Puneet Chhatwal, MD and CEO at IHC  said the milestone of 1 million meals distributed over the last 36 days of lockdown is a testament of the community’s trust in the company.

"We are grateful to have been given this opportunity to assist the medical fraternity, who make sacrifices every day to keep our country and citizens safe and help migrant workers who are facing one of the biggest humanitarian crises ever."

Through its programme, IHCL has partnered with BMC in Mumbai to offer over 3,30,000 meals to the medical fraternity at seven key hospitals/COVID-19 centres. In Bangalore, the company has provided over 9,500 meals to staff at Victoria Hospital and Epidemic Diseases Hospital in partnership with the Taj West End. While in New Delhi, IHCL has served over 85,000 meals to eight hospitals.

Since March 31, 2020, in partnership with Tata Son's - TPSWT has also provided over 5,75,000 meals to migrant workers in Mumbai

Vande Bharat Mission: Authorities seek hotel rooms across the country

India begins its biggest repatriation exercise to bring back 14,800 nationals stuck in 12 countries, the government is earmarking a range of hotel rooms across the spectrum, from one star properties to plush five-stars, for quarantining these travellers who will be landing in different cities
Hotels newly earmarked in Delhi include the Taj Palace Hotel, Shangri-La’s Eros Hotel and Le Meridien, according to people aware of the matter. Besides Taj Palace, the Indian Hotels Company Limited ..
(IHCL) has earmarked rooms in five of its hotels in Bengaluru for the exercise, including in Taj MG Road, Taj West End and the Vivanta hotel in Whitefield.

“We are glad to be able to offer support and care for our community,” said a Shangri-La spokesperson. “The hotel will accommodate some of these returning travellers as and when required. During this period, we will take all necessary precautions and strictly abide by the guidelines provided by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare,”.

“We have got 200 rooms. The Delhi government had approached us. As per the instructions that we have received, all the guests are supposed to pay for the rooms. The government is not footing the bill. In our case it’s Rs 4,000 for a single room and Rs 4,800 for a double room, inclusive of meals plus taxes,” said Tarun Thakral, Chief Operating Officer at Le Meridien. “I think they are giving options to arriving passengers to choose from hotel categories and rates.”
The Delhi government has reportedly allocated 1,200 rooms in Delhi and National Capital Region for the purpose.

The Hotel and Restaurant Association of Western India (HRAWI) said it has been in constant touch with the authorities in Maharashtra and has arranged more than 1,500 rooms at discounted rates in Mumbai across categories
At IBIS New Delhi Aerocity, there are 200 rooms which have been committed for the repatriation exercise
Lemon Tree Hotels said it has been approached by different state authorities on room availability and quotation in locations like Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai, Alleppey, Kochi, Amritsar and Lucknow.
Besides IHCL, hotel chains such as Lemon Tree, Accor and Radisson Hotels have been offering quarantining services for asymptomatic people during the lockdown.