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Rajasthan Muslim woman, who was referred to another hospital, was 7th time pregnant with complicated anaemia case

On Saturday, Rajasthan’s Tourism Minister and Congress leader Vishvendra Singh took to Twitter to claim that a pregnant Muslim woman was refused admission in a hospital by one Dr Muneet Valia in Bharatpur “because she was a Muslim.” He claimed that the doctor said she must go to Jaipur to get her checkup done since she is Muslim.

Many social media users found it odd that the minister was accusing the doctor without any inquiry committee founding him guilty of professional misconduct. However, the transfer slip issued by the said doctor to the patient was soon shared by netizens which suggested a different story.

Journalist Soumyadipta shared the referral slip issued by the clinic which showed that the patient, the Muslim woman, was highly anaemic and on her 7th pregnancy which made it a complicated case.

As per the referral slip, the patient was suffering from Antepartum Haemorrhage (APH), i.e. bleeding prior to delivery. She was anaemic and on her 7th pregnancy. Hence, owing to the complications of the case, she was referred to the bigger hospital in Jaipur since the clinic was not equipped to handle the complicated case.

Another social media user and a doctor himself, Dr Amit Thadani, also explained that the referral slip contained the words “no investigation available” which means this was an unregistered seventh pregnancy of the lady.

Speaking to OpIndia, a doctor said that the woman was 26-28 weeks pregnant and while normal pregnancy lasts 38-40 weeks. So it was indeed a complicated pregnancy which could’ve risked the lives of the mother and child.

Hindustan Times Bureau Chief Rakesh Awasthi took to Twitter to share the byte of a lady who was accompanying the pregnant woman who clarifies that the doctor did not refer them to Jaipur hospital because they are Muslims.

The lady can be heard saying that the doctor asked them to leave, perhaps because the patient was in critical health and delay could have been harmful.

The incident has thus left people wondering if the state government was throwing the doctor under the bus to enable a narrative where they earn liberal brownie points. Truth will come out only once a fair and proper inquiry is done.

Delhi Police constable Imran suspended for helping Tablighi Jamaat members cross Delhi-UP border

The Delhi Police suspended a constable on Saturday after he had assisted Tablighi Jamaat members to cross Delhi-UP border. The Delhi policeman is identified as constable Imran, who was posted in the security unit of the Delhi Police.

Reportedly, Imran was illegally crossing the Delhi-UP border on Thursday in his car along with members of Tablighi Jamaat. The constable was stopped by Ghaziabad Police and was taken into custody after he was interrogated. The Ghaziabad Police soon informed the Delhi Police about the incident and now, the Delhi Police is trying to identify how did the members of the Jamaat contact the constable or vice versa.

Imran has been placed under quarantine at a private hospital in Loni along with eight others after he was caught helping to escape to Amroha. Imran is currently suspended by Delhi Police, which also ordered an inquiry.

“The incident took place on Wednesday when Ghaziabad police stopped a vehicle at Tilla Mod. There were nine occupants who on questioning admitted they were coming all the way from Amroha after attending a Tablighi congregation,” said Kalanidhi Naithani, the Ghaziabad SSP.

The Delhi Police have also started an investigation to trace other members who may have crossed the border. All the nine caught at the UP-Delhi border are residents of Loni.

The Tablighi Jamaat is has become the epicentre of the transmission of the Chinese coronavirus across the country. Muslim clerics of Tablighi Jamaat organised a congregation in violation of the government’s lockdown orders, providing a conducive environment for the novel coronavirus to proliferate.

The Jamaat members taking buses and trains to their respective localities all over India has resulted in a massive nation-wide spread within a span of few days. As per government reports, over 9000 Tablighi Jamaat attendees and their primary contacts have so far been quarantined. At least 700 positive cases from Tablighi event has been reported in the last two days and few of them have died.

“We don’t believe in coronavirus, we believe in Allah”: Mosques remain open in Pakistan despite Chinese coronavirus outbreak

Even as the Chinese pandemic COVID-19 has spread across the country in Pakistan shutting down most of the country, several mosques have remained opened across Pakistan, especially on Friday. People as usual offered prayers at these mosques despite a government ban on big congregational gatherings in order to curb the spread of coronavirus that has killed 37 people and infected nearly 2,500 others in the country.

“We don’t believe in coronavirus, we believe in Allah. Whatever happens, it is from Allah,” one Altaf Khan, an Islamabad resident believes as per AFP report. Some clerics also encouraged people to attend prayers in mosques. Another Islamabad resident said that the people go to mosque to seek help from Allah as they are scared. The officials added that it was not easy to stop people from visiting mosques unless they willingly cooperate. In fact, as late as March last week, the country’s religious scholars asked only the old and sick to avoid prayers in mosque.

According to the reports, the Sindh government had announced a curfew-like restriction from 12 noon to 3 pm to stop people from visiting mosques, while the Punjab government had issued a fatwa for people to offer prayer in their homes. Similar instructions were issued by other provinces and the federal government.

The mosques have too made announcement urging people to pray at home. However, Pakistanis have found more eagerness to defy the instructions to visit mosques.

“The government and police are making statements to create a sense of fear. Nothing will happen. Karachi is a city of 20 million, the government cannot implement its decision in every nook and cranny,” the prayer leader of the Jamia Mosque Quba said.

A heavy contingent of police and Rangers personnel were also deployed in front of the New Memon Mosque and some other areas in Karachi. In Karachi, the majority of mosques have followed government orders, however, some continued to hold regular prayers.

In other towns and cities of the province, including Sukkur, Larkana, Hyderabad and Mirpurkhas divisions, the mosques have been asked to shut while permission has been given to only four to five people, including the prayer leader to pray.

However, the lockdown has not been strictly implemented in rural areas, especially in villages. “We have offered Friday prayers in our Jamia mosque with the same crowd,” said Abdul Hanan, who lives in a village in the Kamber Shahdadkot district.

The situation in Balochistan was not much different. A big crowd came to attend Friday prayers in Qandhari mosque of provincial capital Quetta, located near a police station. In other areas of the province. Most of the mosques were open, but attendance was low.

In Punjab, mosques have made announcements requesting people to pray at homes. In cities, the orders were mostly followed but the situation in the rural areas was different as people came out in big numbers to offer prayers.

Dar ul Iftah Jamia Naeemia, an Islamic university in Lahore, issued a fatwa (religious edict) saying that people who are stopped by the government from coming to mosques were not obliged to perform the prayers in congregation.

There have been cases of confrontation between police and Muslims on the issue of going to mosques. People gathered near Ghousia Mosque in Liaquatabad area of Karachi and pelted stones at police when stopped from entering the mosque. The police said that the official vehicle of the local Station House Officer was slightly damaged in the attack.

Vadodara: 35-year-old Abrar Shaikh arrested for sharing fake news amidst coronavirus outbreak

A 35-year-old Muhammad Abrar Hussain Shaikh was arrested by Vadodara Police for sharing fake news on social networking site Facebook claiming 145 out of 400 people stuck in Vaishnodevi temple tested positive for Chinese Coronavirus.

Abrar Shaikh’s Facebook post from April 2, 2020.

As reported by online web portal DeshGujarat, Shaikh has been booked under IPC section 502(2) and Disaster Management Act 2005, section 54 by city’s cyber cell police station.

Shaikh had shared a Facebook post by Islamist Ali Sohrab, who has a history of spreading fake news. None of the devotees are stuck at the temple and in fact, the temple has been shut since March 18. After the Tablighi Jamaatis were found to be super-spreaders leading to an increase in COVID-19 positive cases, Islamist Ali Sohrab took to social media to spread the fake news. In a bid cover up the Islamist’s transgression and to make Hindu’s appear to be as much in fault as these Islamists, implying that not only Muslims but even Hindu’s have partaken in disseminating coronavirus across the country, Ali Sohrab concocted this imaginary story.

Moreover, Vaishno Devi Shrine Board has also refuted such claims. They have confirmed that no Vaishno Devi pilgrim is stuck anywhere in the temple nor in Katra, Jammu and Kashmir where the holy shrine of Vaishno Devi is located.

Gujarat: Two cops who skipped duty to offer group namaz in madarsa suspended and arrested

On Saturday, the Gujarat Police suspended and arrested two cops for skipping duty and offering prayers at a mosque in Dang district of the state amidst lockdown due to coronavirus spread in the country, reports Desh Gujarat.

According to the reports, Circle Inspector of Ahwa IB Ajmeri and Police Sub Inspector SS Daraiya have been suspended after they skipped the duty and went to a local mosque near Ahwa to offer Namaz along with few other Muslim clerics. The two cops were suspended for defying government’s order of not assembling more than four persons during the lockdown.

The two cops and three others including the Maulana have been arrested by the Gujarat police. A case has been registered against all the accused under IPC Section 188 and section 51(B) NDMA Act 2005.

“A Police Inspector and a Police Sub-Inspector have been suspended for offering prayers at a mosque in Dang district amid coronavirus lockdown,” Superintendent of Police Shweta Shrimal confirmed.

The others arrested are identified as Zabbar Kureshi, Abdul Vanzara and Shabbir Vani. Seven people were present inside the mosque when a police team jumped the gates of the local mosque to apprehend the cops. Five people were caught while offering Namaz including the two cops.

Donald Trump requests PM Narendra Modi to supply hydroxychloroquine tablets to treat COVID-19 US patients

US President Donald Trump on Saturday said that he has requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi to supply hydroxychloroquine tablets that can be used to treat the Chinese coronavirus patients. Reportedly, US President Trump announced at the White House Coronavirus task force briefing that he requested PM Narendra Modi for more Hydroxychloroquine tablets.

“After call today with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India is giving serious consideration to releasing the hold it put on a US order for hydroxychloroquine,” he added.

President Trump also added that he too will take a tablet of hydroxychloroquine after announcing that he has requested Prime Minister during his telephonic conversation on Saturday to lift a hold on the US order of the medicine.

“India makes a lot of it. They need a lot too for their billion-plus people. The hydroxychloroquine, the anti-malaria drug will be released through the Strategic National Stockpile for treatment,” he said.

“I said I would appreciate if they would release the amounts that we ordered” of hydroxychloroquine, he said.

Hydroxychloroquine is in a class of drugs called antimalarials. It is used to prevent and treat acute attacks of malaria. The malaria drug hydroxychloroquine has been lately used to speed the recovery of patients who were mildly ill from the coronavirus.

The Indian government has put on hold the export of anti-malarial drug hydroxychloroquine and its formulations.

On Saturday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Twitter, “Had an extensive telephone conversation with President @realDonaldTrump. We had a good discussion, and agreed to deploy the full strength of the India-US partnership to fight COVID-19.”

Prime Minister conveyed deep condolences for the loss of lives in the United States and his prayers for the early recovery of those still suffering from the disease.

The United States has been one of the hardest hit due to the Chinese pandemic COVID-19. According to the latest figures, at least 301,902 cases of coronavirus has been reported in the US. 8,175 people have died in the US from coronavirus.

There was a steep rise in the number of cases in the last 24 hours. At least 23,949 new cases were reported, and at least 1,023 new deaths in the US have been reported in the last 24 hours alone.

COVID-19 brought under Ayushman Bharat Scheme, testing and treatment to be available for free at private labs and hospitals

The Ministry of Health and Family welfare has now put COVID-19 under the national health scheme, the Ayushman Bharat- Pradhan Mantri Jan Aarogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY). In a joint statement of the National Health Authority and Health Authority, it was declared that COVID-19 will be covered under the AB-PMJAY.

The joint statement said, “The testing and treatment of COVID-19 is already available for free in the public facilities. Now, more than 50 crore citizens, eligible under the government of India’s health assurance scheme will be able to avail free testing through private labs and treatment for COVID-19 in empanelled hospitals. The empanelled hospitals can use their own authorized testing facilities or tie-up with an authorized testing facility. These tests would be carried out as per the protocol set by Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) and by private labs approved or registered by ICMR. Similarly, the treatment of COVID-19 by private hospitals will be covered under AB-PMJAY.”

The National Health Authority is the apex body which designs, roll out, implementation and management of AB-PMJAY across the country.

The testing and treatment of the novel coronavirus infection are being provided at government-run laboratories and hospitals freely as the fear spread of the deadly epidemic. As the Ayushman Bharat scheme is the world’s largest health insurance, this move is expected to grab more private players for providing testing and treatment for COVID-19.

As per reports, the private sector health insurance providers including ICICI Lombard Health Insurance and Star Health and Allied Insurance, have started providing dedicated covid-19 health insurance policies to their customers that led the government update the column and expand the opportunities for the citizens to avail the scheme.

Minister of Health and Family Welfare, Dr. Harshavardhan said that, “In this unprecedented crisis we have to very actively involve the private sector as a key partner and stakeholder in the fight against COVID-19. Making testing and treatment available under Ayushman Bharat PM-JAY will significantly expand our capacities by including private sector hospitals and labs and mitigate the adverse impact of this catastrophic illness on the poor.”

The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDAI) in a press release on Wednesday (1 April) had said that the standard health insurance policy “Arogya Sanjeevani” for all 29 general/health insurance companies will now cover hospitalisation under Covid-19.

Coronavirus cases in India till 4 April have been surged to 3072, while 213 have recovered and 75 have succumbed to the deadly contagious disease.

Coronavirus: Tablighi Jamaat members continue to endanger public health in different states in India

The massive jump in the number of Wuhan Coronavirus cases in India is solely due to the Tablighi Jamaat members who had gathered in the Nizamuddin mosque despite government orders against mass-gatherings. The Jamaat members taking buses and trains to their respective localities all over India has resulted in a massive nation-wide spread within a span of few days.

On Saturday, Joint Secretary in the Union Health Ministry, Lav Aggarwal informed that about 1023 confirmed cases of Wuhan Coronavirus in 17 States are linked to the Nizamuddin Markaz congregation that was organised by Tablighi Jamaat. An analysis of the pandemic outbreak in different states will give us a complete picture of the grim situation on the ground.

Assam

On April 2, it was reported that as many as 148 people linked with the Tablighi Jamaat have been placed under quarantine in different parts of Assam. It has also come to light that in the 25 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the state, 24 are directly connected to the religious congregation held between March 13 and March 15. The 24 persons had attended the Tablighi Jamaat in Delhi, or had travelled to Delhi with family members who had attended the event. 3 of them are residents of UP who had gone to Assam to preach after the Jamaat was over.

Assam govt has identified more than 800 people lined with the Jamaat and placed them in quarantine. As a precautionary measure, the other Northeastern States have sealed their borders and have restricted the entry of people coming from Assam into their respective States.

Odisha

Chief Spokesperson of Odisha Government, Subroto Bagchi, said 27 people from the State had been linked to the Nizamuddin Markaz event. Reportedly, 7 of them are foreigners. One of them has now been diagnosed with COVID-19. While 21 of them had tested negative for the deadly pathogen, the test results of 5 people are still awaited.

West Bengal

The West Bengal Government had informed on Friday that a total of 225 Tablighi Jamaat members and their contacts had been kept under quarantine. A senior official said, “We are not taking any chance…Even those who had returned to the State before the countrywide lockdown have been placed under quarantine. Everyone with links to the Nizamuddin event has been put in isolation and medical tests will be duly conducted.”

The Central Government had earlier revealed the names of 71 attendees of the religious congregation. The West Bengal government had been successful in tracking down 54 of them within a few others. As per reports, the other participants were eventually traced.

In a press meet at his residence on Friday, West Bengal BJP President Dilip Ghosh said, “We have information that 69 others still remain untraced, posing a serious threat… It can be assumed that many of them could be infected with the dreaded virus, but our Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee seems to have washed her hands off this.”

Uttarakhand

On Thursday, 3 members of the Tablighi Jamaat had tested positive for COVID-19 in the hilly State of Uttarakhand. 13 members of the same Islamic Missionary movement were arrested near the railway track and Nainital Road in Rudrapur, Uttarakhand. They had entered the State from the Moradabad and Rampur areas of Uttar Pradesh and were booked under IPC Sections 188 (disobedience), 269 (negligently spread any disease dangerous to life) and 270 (malignant act likely to spread infection) of the Indian Penal Code.

Haridwar District Magistrate C Ravishankar informed, “531 Tablighi Jamaat members had gone out from Haridwar out of which 377 have returned after March 1. All of them have been traced. So far, 243 of them have been kept in quarantine.”

Karnataka

On April 2, Chief Minister of Karnataka B S Yeddyurappa, informed that 391 people from Karnataka who attended the religious meeting at Delhi’s Nizamuddin Markaz had been quarantined. 11 people belonging to Tablighi Jamaat had been diagnosed with the Wuhan Coronavirus infection.

He said, “Some members who had gone to preach in other districts (of Karnataka and other states) are being identified. Directions are issued to quarantine them wherever they are.” Yeddyurappa had directed for a mandatory checkup of all primary and secondary contacts of the Tablighi Jamaat members.

Tamil Nadu

On 3rd April, Tamil Nadu reported 102 fresh cases of COVID-19, thus taking the total number of cases in the state to 411. According to Dr. Beela Rajesh, 100 people out of 102 had links with the Tablighi Jamaat event. An estimated 1500 people had participated in the religious congregation. Reportedly, the people have been spread over 15 districts in the state.

Telangana

Around 1030 Jamaatis from Telangana had been to the religious congregation in Delhi. As on Friday, 229 of them had tested positive for Coronavirus. According to the Telangana Government, a whooping 82% patients are linked to the Jamaat.

400 members of the Tablighi Jamaat have been moved to isolation wards in different government hospitals such as Gandhi, Fever, Chest, etc. Around 100 family members of these people have also been quarantined. Their test results are likely to be announced today.

On March 30, six people from Telangana who attended a religious gathering at Markaz in Delhi’s Nizamuddin area between March 13 and March 15 had reportedly died of Coronavirus infection. This has taken the death toll in the state from 2 to 8 in just 48 hours.

Maharashtra

The Maharashtra government has traced 1300 out of 1400 Tablighi Jamaat members. Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope said, “The process to quarantine all of them have started. This is from all over Maharashtra. Help is being taken from the NGOs and NSS along with police and state officials in the quarantine process.” 2 people from the Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation area, linked with the Nizamuddin Markaz event, have tested positive for COVId-19

Rajasthan

The first case of COVID-19 outbreak in 5 districts of Rajasthan can be traced either to Tablighi Jamaat members or their contacts. 41 people out of the total 198 live cases reported in the State are linked to the Nizamuddin Markaz event. The cops have been able to track down 703 Jaamtis so far. They have now been sent to isolation wards in government-run facilities or kept under home quarantine.

Haryana

On Friday, DGP Manoj Yadav had informed that over 1300 members, including 107 foreign nationals, of the Tablighi Jamaat members had come to Haryana after attending the religious meeting in Delhi. 8 people have been diagonsed with the Wuhan Coronavirus so far. “There were no restrictions in place when they entered Haryana. I can assure that no one entered after March 25”, DGP Manoj was quoted as saying.

Delhi

On Friday, the Delhi Government reported 93 new cases of COVID-19. 77 patients were found to have taken part in the Islamic congregation. Two people died in the state, one of them a Tablighi Jamaat member. The death toll in the State has thus crossed 6.

In a rather unprecedented move, 650 government officials who were involved in evicting Tablighi Jamaat members from the Markaz have been sent to a 14-day quarantine. The decision was taken keeping in mind their well-being and that of their families.

Himachal Pradesh

Out of 6 live cases of COVID-19 infection in Himachal Pradesh, 3 of them are associated with Tablighi Jamaat. They had returned to the Una district in the State after participating in Nizamuddin’s religious congregation. A total of 27 samples were sent for testing, out of which 3 turned out to be positive.

Andaman and Nicobar Islands

The Union Territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, which is home to at least 5 endangered tribes has reported 10 cases of Wuhan Coronavirus till April 1. Nine of them include Islamic preachers who participated in the religious congregation in Nizamuddin while the 10th patient is the wife of one of the clerics. Nine of them returned to Port Blair on March 24 and carried the deadly infection with them to the group of islands.

Conclusion

Besides endangering public health through voluntary participation in a mass gathering, members of the Tablighi Jamaat had also been involved in several notorious activities.

The Tablighi Jamaat members who were shifted to quarantine facilities in Delhi after exhibiting symptoms of COVID-19 behaved in an unruly manner with the facility staff and doctors. According to authorities, occupants made unreasonable demands for food, misbehaved and abused staff members and started spitting all over and on persons working/attending them, including doctors. They also started roaming around the hostel building.

One such cluster of almost 89 Tablighi Jamaat attendees who have been quarantined in the Isolation Center at Madhu Resort in Sikandra space, Agra, had refused to consume the healthy non-spicy food prescribed to them by the doctors. Instead, they have been making preposterous food demands like spicy beef biryani. The Jamaatis are claiming that they eat the same biryani every day and that it is an essential part of their diet.

Earlier, the Uttar Pradesh police have registered an FIR against six Muslims associated with controversial Tablighi Jamaat for walking around the ward without their trousers on and making lewd gestures towards the nurses during their quarantine at MMG District Hospital in the city. This incident of Tablighi Jamaat members misbehaving came after they were quarantined.

Reportedly, the members of Tablighi Jamaat were found intentionally roaming naked in their ward and making lewd gestures for female staff at a Ghaziabad Hospital. Following this incident, an FIR has been registered against persons from Tablighi Jamat by the city police based on Chief Medical officer’s complaint.

In yet another ghastly attack on the healthcare workers by Islamists, the Tablighi Jamaat members who are quarantined at Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi Memorial Medical College in Kanpur, misbehaved with the medical staff and spat on them during their stay at the hospital in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh.

Two new COVID-19 positive cases detected in Mumbai’s Dharavi

The densely populated slum of Mumbai, Dharavi has reported two fresh cases of Wuhan coronavirus. A 30-year old woman from Baliga Nagar and a 48-year old individual from Mukund Nagar slum in Dharavi.

Dharavi had earlier reported 3 cases that also included a 56-year old who later succumbed to the disease. According to Mumbai police, he had hosted 10 persons who had attended the Tablighi Jamaat at Nizamuddin Markaz event and contracted the infection during the religious congregation. Other cases that were reported were of a 52-year-old sanitization worker and 35-year-old doctor who lived at Dharavi main road and has a clinic in the same area. A total of five cases has been reported from the densely populated slum of Mumbai including the deceased.

Dharavi has been put under close observation after 3 cases of the coronavirus infection emerged from the region. Many buildings, shops in the neighbourhood have locked themselves to keep all the visitors out. The state of Maharashtra is the facing the worst crisis as a total of 490 positive cases has emerged in the state, making it the state with the highest number of COVID-19 cases nationally.

As many as four people have died of the contagion in Mumbai and the officials are afraid that the city might fast devolve into another coronavirus hotspot like Delhi after Tablighi Jamaat connection with the Dharavi death was discovered.

BJP MP shares video accusing Arvind Kejriwal government of providing worm-infested food to the poor during the lockdown

As the Wuhan coronavirus outbreak has brought the country to a screeching halt due to the countrywide lockdown announced by PM Modi, the destitute and the needy are the ones who have largely borne the brunt of the crippling lockdown restrictions. Following PM Modi’s call for a nationwide lockdown, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had announced that he would help the needy tide over the current situation by providing them with free meals. However, now it is being alleged that the food provided by the AAP government in Delhi is worm-infested and unfit for human consumption.

In a video shared by the BJP MP Parvesh Sahib Singh, a lady from Delhi’s Seemapuri area is seen criticising the Delhi government for providing worm-infested food to them at a time when the country is grappling with the menace of coronavirus.

“On one hand, coronavirus threatens to snuff out our lives. On the other hand, the Delhi government wants us to die of this worm-infested food. Besides being half-cooked, the food that is distributed by the Delhi government is infested with insects. We will die and our children will also die after consuming such worm-ridden food,” a woman in the video says.

Lambasting Arvind Kejriwal-led Delhi government, the West Delhi Lok Sabha MP challenged the AAP supremo and the AAP legislators in Delhi if they could themselves consume such an unhealthy food that is being served to the destitute and poor amidst the coronavirus crisis.

Arvind Kejriwal government, after having tripped over the migrant workers’ issue, declared with much fanfare that daily 4 lakh people will be provided with free food in Delhi. “No one will sleep hungry,” Arvind Kejriwal had then said. However, now the helpless indigents living in Delhi are forced either to remain hungry or explore other options to fulfil their food requirements, owing to the substandard quality of food served to them by the Delhi government.