COVID-19: Take Help from Armed Forces, Admiral (Retd) Ramdas Urges PM

New Delhi:  Former Navy chief Admiral L Ramdas (Retd) has written to the Prime Minister, urging him to take help from the Armed Forces to address the food requirements of millions who are either forced to travel, have to find both food and shelter wherever they are.

In view of the 21-day lockdown to prevent COVID-19 spread, the situation in the country has become “so critical that this requires more than ordinary measures” said the Magsayay awardee, adding that three Armed Forces could easily tackle the  logistics and huge challenges in making cooked food/ food grains available to millions of the most needy and vulnerable.

“I am sure the CDS and his colleagues in the Army, Navy and Air Force would only be too happy to organise and provide food through special kitchens which they can set up and run near their current locations. The food stocks can be directly indented from the District Collector of the district in which the Armed Forces get so deployed,” he said in the letter, copies of which have also been sent to the Defence Minister, the three defence chiefs as well as the Chief of Defence Staff.

Admiral Ramads said he was “confident that our Armed Forces are well equipped and trained to render any other forms of assistance that may be required. As you are aware most of our personnel amongst the jawans and equivalents in the other two services also come from villages across India Therefore this would be an initiative which would be well received and also evoke maximum participation.”

Read the full letter here.

Admiral Ramdas by Newsclick on Scribd