Abu Dhabi's Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque: Grand Iftar that feeds 35,000 people every day
Making of the UAE's largest Iftar meal that feeds 35,000 people daily at the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque every Ramadan is not an easy task. An army of chefs and cooking assistants work hard to deliver thousands of Iftar meals to fasting Muslims, inside the tents set up on the sprawling lawns of the iconic mosque.
About 1,000 people work all day at the big Armed Forces Officers Club and Hotel's big kitchen to produce the free Iftar meals for the worshippers who break their fast at the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque during the holy month.
The team consists of 350 chefs, 160 stewards and 450 service staff - including purchasing, store, hygiene and safety - all work hand-in-hand to prepare and put together the Iftar meals.
"To present the meal boxes to the fasting guests every dusk, we have upgraded our services with new ideas such as improving our parcel boxes, change of equipment in the kitchen for more health and safety measurements and efficiency to prepare this big amount of food and to improve on the standards, decoration and accuracy as well," said Karsten Gottschalk, executive chef at the Armed Forces Officers Club and Hotel in Abu Dhabi.
At the kitchen, the staff uses 12 tonnes of chicken and six tonnes of lamb are used each day in addition to other products and ingredients such as rice, vegetables, tomatoes and onions, amounting to 35 tonnes.
A meal box also includes an apple, water, dates, laban drink and fruit juices. After the meal parcels are packed, they are taken over to the nearby Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque.
Eleven huge air-conditioned tents have been erected in the mosque gardens - with each accommodating up to 1,500 people.
Volunteers from the UAE Red Crescent also help the group from the UAE Armed Forces in calling on and directing people to take seats well before the canon goes off announcing the ending of the fast and Maghrib prayer.
Tim Kasozi, 32, an Ugandan taxi driver, said last year was his first time he broke fast at the Grand Mosque since moving to the Capital in 2015. "It's such a cool and comfortable place," he said. "I was impressed by the great organisation. I had never had chance to have Iftar with such a big number of people."
Bangladeshi construction worker Omar Abdul Kareem who lives at a labour accommodation in Mussafah said their company bus transports them daily to the big Iftar. "I go to the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque every day to end my fast. The food served is really good."
Abdul Kareem added that he's been having the free iftar for the past three years. "It's a good thing for me given my Dh1,000 monthly salary," he said.
Bachelors and families from the city centre and thousands of workers from labour accommodations in Mussafah, Mafraq and Baniyas flock to the Grand Mosque daily using cars and the free shuttle service to and from the mosque to their accommodations.
What is in the mealbox
► Apple
► Water
► Dates
► Laban drink
► Fruit juices
► Rice with meat or chicken
Who prepares the food
A total of 1,000 people work all day at the big Armed Forces Officers Club and Hotel's big kitchen to produce the free iftar meals for the worshippers who break their fast at the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque during the holy month.
The team consists of 350 chefs, 160 stewards and 450 service staff - including purchasing, store, hygiene and safety - all work hand-in-hand to prepare and put together the Iftar meals.
courtesy : khaleejtimes.com
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Assam's Byrnihat tops global pollution list; Delhi most polluted capital: Report
New Delhi (PTI): Thirteen of the world's top 20 most polluted cities are in India, with Byrnihat in Assam topping the list, according to a new report published on Tuesday.
The World Air Quality Report 2024 by Swiss air quality technology company IQAir said Delhi remains the most polluted capital city globally, while India ranked as the world's fifth most polluted country in 2024, down from third in 2023.
The report said India saw a 7 percent decline in PM2.5 concentrations in 2024, averaging 50.6 micrograms per cubic metre, compared to 54.4 micrograms per cubic metre in 2023. Yet, 13 of the world's 20 most polluted cities are in India.
Air pollution in Delhi worsened, with the annual average PM2.5 concentration rising from 102.4 micrograms per cubic metre in 2023 to 108.3 micrograms per cubic metre in 2024.
The Indian cities in the world's top 20 most polluted cities are Byrnihat, Delhi, Punjab's Mullanpur, Faridabad, Loni, Gurugram, Ganganagar, Greater Noida, Bhiwadi, Muzaffarnagar, Hanumangarh and Noida.
Overall, 35 percent of the Indian cities reported annual PM2.5 levels exceeding 10 times the WHO limit of 5 micrograms per cubic metre, the report said.
The high level of pollution in Byrnihat, a town on the border of Assam and Meghalaya, is due to emissions from local factories, including distilleries, iron and steel plants.
Delhi grapples with high air pollution year-round and the problem worsens in winter when unfavourable meteorological conditions, combined with vehicular emissions, paddy-straw burning, firecrackers and other local pollution sources, make the air quality hazardous.
Air pollution remains a serious health risk in India, reducing life expectancy by an estimated 5.2 years.
According to a Lancet Planetary Health study published last year, about 1.5 million deaths in India every year from 2009 to 2019 were potentially linked to long-term exposure to PM2.5 pollution.
PM2.5 refers to tiny air pollution particles smaller than 2.5 microns, which can enter the lungs and bloodstream, leading to breathing problems, heart disease and even cancer. Sources include vehicle exhaust, industrial emissions and the burning of wood or crop waste.
Former WHO chief scientist and health ministry advisor Soumya Swaminathan said India has made progress in air quality data collection but lacks sufficient action.
"We have the data; now we need action. Some solutions are easy like replacing biomass with LPG. India already has a scheme for this, but we must further subsidise additional cylinders. The first cylinder is free, but the poorest families, especially women, should receive higher subsidies. This will improve their health and reduce outdoor air pollution," she told PTI in an interview.
In cities, expanding public transport and imposing fines on certain cars could help. "A mix of incentives and penalties is necessary," she said.
"Finally, strict enforcement of emission laws is crucial. Industries and construction sites must comply with regulations and install equipment to cut emissions instead of taking shortcuts," the former director general of the Indian Council of Medical Research added.
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