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Sikhs deliver hundreds of curries to truckers stranded in Kent

4 min read

Good Stuff
Source: Twitter/Khalsa_Aid/KentOnline

The Sikh community have rallied together to prepare and deliver more than 800 hot meals to European truckers currently stranded due to border closures.

Gravesend Gurdwara and Khalsa Aid deliver hundreds of meals to stranded truckers in Kent

The Sikh community rallied together to make sure truckers, currently stranded due to border closures, don’t go hungry. More than 800 free hot meals were made on Tuesday (22 December) afternoon by the Gravesend Gurdwara who turned around the massive order in just under three hours, KentOnline reported.

Operation Stack is a procedure used by Kent Police and the Port of Dover in England to park (or
“Operation Stack” has left hundreds of truckers stranded without access to food or sanitation. Operation Stack is a procedure used by Kent Police and the Port of Dover in England to park (or “stack”) lorries on the M20 motorway in Kent when services across the English Channel, such as those through the Channel Tunnel or from the Port of Dover, are disrupted, for example by bad weather, industrial action, fire or derailments in the tunnel. In this instance, it’s due to border closures amid fears of the new variant strain of COVID-19 spreading in England. Source: kentonline.co.uk

volunteers rallied to make 500 chickpea curries and 300 mushroom and pasta dishes.

Volunteers rallied together at the Guru Nanak Darbar Gurdwara’s Langar kitchen in Gravesend to prepare the dishes at short notice. They worked with Sikh humanitarian relief charity Khalsa Aid to come to the aid of lorry drivers currently trapped due to the closure of the border in France.

According to local news outlet KentOnline, temple leaders received the call around midday and sprung into action as part of a collective effort with local authorities including Kent Police and Kent County Council.

Spokesman for the Guru Nanak Darbar Jagdev Singh Virdee said: "They [Khalsa Aid] got in touch this morning about 12 o’clock and by 2.30pm they came to collect the food.

"We made some phone calls to get volunteers together because we are already doing Langar, where we deliver to vulnerable people."

Together, volunteers rallied to make 500 chickpea curries and 300 mushroom and pasta dishes.

Khalsa Aid founder Ravinder Singh then arranged to pick up the meals from the Gravesend Gurdwara and deliver them to the hungry truckers with the help of a Kent Police escort.

The act of kindness comes as more than 1,000 HGVs are parked in the county, filling laybys and roadsides as well as the 4,000-capacity airport site.

Meanwhile talks continue with the French government to reopen the border as more than 1,000 lorries remain stranded in Kent, amid fears the new coronavirus strain is out of control.

Source: KentOnline 

Together, volunteers rallied to make 500 chickpea curries and 300 mushroom and pasta dishes in 3 hours. Credit: Guru Nanak Darbar Gurdwara Gravesend
Inside the Gravesend Gurdwara as volunteers assemble 800 meals for stranded lorry drivers in Kent. Together, volunteers rallied to make 500 chickpea curries and 300 mushroom and pasta dishes in 3 hours. Credit: Guru Nanak Darbar Gurdwara Gravesend Source: Guru Nanak Darbar Gurdwara/LadBible

Hundreds of lorries are also sat on the M20 after Operation Brock went live

All freight and passenger traffic has been banned from entering France with hauliers redirected to a makeshift lorry park at Manston Airport and plans being drawn up to test drivers before they cross the Channel in a mass programme co-ordinated by the military.

Hundreds of lorries are also sat on the M20 after Operation Brock went live.

The coastguard was today seen driving down the M20 in between rows of queueing lorries and handing out bottled water.

Kent County Council, with the help of Kent Resilience Forum agencies, distributed snacks and drinking water on Monday ahead of drivers being able to access welfare facilities at Manston as part Operation Brock planning.

At Dover Wednesday morning, drivers were bursting with frustration and honking horns as they approached the port only to be turned away with nowhere to go.

Source: KentOnline 

800 Hot meals ready for the truckers stranded in #Kent due to #OperationStack! Our thx to the #Kent Sikh community especially Guru Nanak Gurdwara Gravesend. for preparing meals on short notice #BordersClosed @Port_of_Dover
Khalsa Aid @Khalsa_Aid tweeted on 22 Dec: 800 Hot meals ready for the truckers stranded in #Kent due to #OperationStack! Our thx to the #Kent Sikh community especially Guru Nanak Gurdwara Gravesend. for preparing meals on short notice #BordersClosed @Port_of_Dover Source: Twitter/KhalsaAid
The kind actions have been praised online, with Twitter user posting:
Gurdwara President Manpreet Singh Dhaliwal, and Ravi Singh, founder and CEO of Khalsa Aid. The kind actions have been praised online, with Twitter user posting: “Wonderful work. Thank you for once again helping those in need and providing delicious meals and a sense of some comfort to our essential workers who’re stranded.”Another posted: “Thank you on behalf of all of us British who are ashamed of our government’s failure to organise properly. Thank you for showing the true spirit of love and compassion.” Image Credit: Guru Nanak Darbar Gurdwara Gravesend Source: Guru Nanak Darbar Gurdwara/LadBible
Sikh Community Delivers Hundreds Of Meals To Lorry Drivers In Kent The Sikh community in Kent has come together to prepare and deliver hundreds of meals to lorry drivers who are currently stuck due to the boarder closure. Around 1000 truckers have been left trapped because of the closure at the boarder of Dover, with the drivers unsure of when they'll be able to get moving again. Source: YouTube/ITV
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