Lanjigarh Project Area Development Foundation (LPADF) Donates Three Ambulance in Rayagada

Saturday, November 06, 2010

• LPADF, the Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) formed for Vedanta Alumina Refinery Project and OMC’s Niyamgiri Bauxite mining project donates three Ambulances to Rayagada District Administration
• The Ambulance will be mainly used for Janani Suraksha Yojana program and emergency medical services in Rayagada

Rayagada, Nov 06 – The Lanjigarh Project Area Development Foundation (LPADF) – a special purpose vehicle formed by Government of Orissa with Directors from Government of Orissa (GoO), Orissa Mining Corporation (OMC) and Sterlite Industries (India) Limited (SIIL) as per the Supreme Courts verdict for Vedanta project at Lanjigarh and OMC’s Niyamgiri mining project – donated three fully operational Ambulances to the District Administration of Rayagada, today. All these ambulances will be placed in rural and tribal areas of Rayagada and would be used for the Janani Suraksha Yojana program and mobile health service in the district.

Mukesh Kumar, President & Chief Operating Officer of Vedanta Aluminium Limited, Lanjigarh and one of the Director of LPADF handed over the keys of the ambulances to Dr. Benudhar Naik, Chief District Medical Officer (CDMO), Rayagada. M. Muthukumar, IAS, Sub-Collector of Gunupur; Padmanava Sethi, ADM, Rayagada and Sanjay Kumar Pattnaik, one of the Directors of LPADF also attended the small function, held at District Headquarter Hospital, Rayagada, today.

“These three ambulances, equipped with modern facilities will play important role for providing better medical facilities in Rayagada district,” said Mukesh Kumar. The ambulances will help save the lives of those in need of urgent medical care by facilitating more rapid access to health services. LPADF is committed for further contribution to improve health facility for tribal rural population in the district, he informed.

LPADF is the first ever initiative in India for sharing economic benefits of industrialisation with the society on a sustainable basis. This model, advised by the Supreme Court for Vedanta Refinery Proejct and OMC’s Niyamgiri mining project will help in confidence building in the society and promote sustainable socio-economic development through industrialisation in tribal and rural areas. In Kalahandi and Rayagada district, the LPADF has taken up a lot of developmental work such as comprehensive upgradation of tribal schools, college infrastructure, upgradation of electrical system, health facility etc, since inception in October 2009. The main focus areas are development in health, education, livelihood, communication and cultural heritage. The LPADF also inducted three mobile medical units (MHUs) in diarrhoea affected areas in Rayagada district.

Vedanta Aluminium Limited under its CSR program has also taken up several initiatives to improve the health care service for tribal people in Kalahandi and Rayagada district. Recently, on October 29, 2010 it has opened a modern Hospital at Lanjigarh for public. This will provide secondary level healthcare service for people in the locality.

 

VAL provides medical support to Brain Tumour Patient

VAL provides medical support to Brain Tumour Patient

Doimati Batra from Mundbahali village under Kurli Gram Panchayat in Niyamgiri hill slope is very happy now. After all, she got new life. Thanks to the timely medical support by Vedanta Aluminium.

Doimati was suffering from Brain Tumour (Glioma) and little knowledge about the same. She was facing several problems such as headache and vomiting. However, she never dared to visit a Hospital and seek treatment. She belongs to a very poor family and her husband Judhisti Batra earns livelihood for the family of four by daily labour and agriculture.

The mobile health team of Vedanta Aluminium, during a tour identified Doimati as a Brain Tumor Case. Immediately the Doctor of the Hospital referred her to hospital. But she hardly had enough money to go to a specialist hospital.

considering her poor economic status, Vedanta Aluminium took care of her and admitted her in St Joseph’s Hospital (which is also known as American Hospital) in Vishakhapatnam from 13.09.09 to 09.10.2009. The Company provided Rs. 25,000 towards medical expenses and also a vehicle for her transportation. Now she is completely cured.

She thanks Vedanta Aluminium for its medical and financial assistance. “Vedanta doctors saved my life. I never had imagined that I would get treatment in such a superior hospital and get cured,” says beaming Doimati.

“Well being of people in our operational area is our foremost priority. we always look forward to provide medical care to the community members, especially tribals,” says Dr. Mukesh Kumar, Chief Operating Officer of Vedanta Aluminium Limited.

Pineapple and Bamboo Cultivation for Dongria Kondh

In order to improve the livelihood of Dongria Kondh people in Lanjigarh Block of Kalahandi district, Vedanta Aluminium Limited introduced Pine apple and Bamboo Cultivation in the area. On pilot basis, the program started with 75 farmers from the tribal community in seven villages. The program was launched by Mr. Umesh Mehta, Vice President, Vedanta Aluminum Limited.

Inaugurating a One-Day Training Program for the Farmers on Pineapple and Bamboo Cultivation, Mr. Umesh Mehta said, “Vedanta thrives for providing opportunity to Dongria Kondh people to improve their life and livelihood. The project will help them in earning better return through systematic cultivation of pineapple and bamboo”. Each of the farmers was given 1000 suckers of pineapple and 500 sucker of bamboo. Tribal farmers will get required fertilizer and regular agricultural advisory from experts for the cultivation. Mr. RK Mahanty and Mr. SN Pesnia trained the farmers on scientific methodology for cultivation of pineapple and bamboo.

The climate in Niyamgiri slope is suitable for the cultivation and the project is expected to benefit the tribal more than Rs. 50000 in next three years. By integrating bamboo with pineapple cultivation, threat of wild animal for pineapple can avoided, according to Mr. Chitta Ranjan Behura, Manager (CSR), Vedanta Aluminium Limited. The Company will provide marketing support for the final produce, so that the farmers get reasonable price.

The program is being implemented by Shakti Organisation, a local NGO having expertise in livelihood programs for Tribals. Vedanta Aluminium has also successfully, introduced leaf-plate making for Dongria Kondh women under project Jeevika. The program has been highly successful and participating women are earning an average of Rs. 1500 per month by making leaf-plates.

SPV formed for Lanjigarh area development

As suggested by the Supreme Court of India, a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) named as Lanjigarh Project Area Development Foundation (LPADF), has been formed with the Orissa government, Sterlite Industries India Ltd (SIIL) and Orissa Mining Corporation (OMC) as stakeholders. It will initiate programmes for uplift of Kutia Kondh and Dongria Kondh community on priority basis.

In the SPV, the Orissa government and its agency OMC have 26 percent and 25 per cent stake respectively while the rest 49 per cent is vested with SIIL. The first meeting of the board of directors of the SPV was held in the office of the Revenue Divisional Commissioner (RDC), Berhampur yesterday.

It was decided to take up developmental projects in the field of health, education, livelihood and infrastructure in both Kalahandi and Rayagada districts. Projects worth Rs 12.5 crore were discussed and approved by the Board of the Directors.

The major projects approved are upgradation of Lanjigarh hospital, water supply in Lanjigarh and Biswanathpur, upgradation of tribal school at Lanjigarh, bridge and road construction, malaria eradication program in Lanjigarh, development of girls’ school and college at Lanjigarh.

The Hyderabad based National Institute of Rural Development (NIRD) has been shortlisted for taking up the need assessment study in the tribal areas which is expected to help in formulating effective development interventions.

Though the Foundation will operate from Lanjigarh, it will have offices at district collectors’ office in Kalahandi and Rayagada on a temporary basis.

Source: http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/spv-formed-for-lanjigarh-area-development/373481/

Standing Committee of Orissa Assembly appreciate DAV Vedanta International School

A team of seven MLAs of Departmentally Related Standing Committee – IV visited DAV Vedanta International School at Lanjigarh on October 13, 2009. The committee was led by Surendra Singh Bhoi, MLA, Titlagarh and other members of the committee were Rajendra Dholekia, MLA, Nuapada; Pratap Chandra Sarangi, MLA, Nilagiri, Rajendra Kumar Das, MLA, Dhamnagar, Braja Kishore Pradhan, MLA, Talcher and Bijay Kumar Mohanty, MLA, Bhubaneswar-Central. MLA of Bhawanipatna, Dushmanta Nayak also accompanied the Standing Committee. The legislators interacted with the Students and teachers of the School and appreciated Vedanta’s effort to include students from periphery area in the school. They praised the quality of education imparted by the school. The effort of DAV School by Vedanta is commendable. Similar, system of education should be replicated in other areas of the district to provide opportunity for more children, according to Surendra Singh Bhoi, Chairman of the Standing Committee. Ms. Sukla Chakravarty, Principal of the School informed about several initiatives taken up by the Company to improve the quality education in the area. At the end of the visit, Dr. Mukesh Kumar made a presentation on several development initiatives taken up by the Company in Lanjigarh for integrated development of people in the periphery. Mr. Chudamani Seth, ADM, Kalahandi and Dr. Mrugaraj Sahoo, DPC, Kalahandi accompanied the team to Lanjigarh. Mr. Balabhadra Majhi, Ex-Minister and Ex-MLA, Lanjigarh; Ms. Srimati Majhi, Chairman, Lanjigarh Block, Mr. Sanjay Pattnaik, AVP, Mr. Bikash Das, AGM and Mr. Samiron Sarkar, AGM of Vedanta Aluminium were also present.

First CSR Led PPP in Orissa Health at Kalahandi

Vedanta Aluminium, signs MoU with Zilla Swasthya Samiti, Kalahandi to upgrade health service of Lanjigarh Area Hospital

The ownership of the hospital will continue to remain with the Government and will be managed by VAL under Public Private Partnership arrangement.

Renewing its commitment to provide improved health care service to people of Lanjigarh, Vedanta Aluminium Limited (VAL) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Zilla Swasthya Samiti, Kalahandi to upgrade the infrastructure, management and delivery of health service of Lanjigarh Area Hospital, catering to the health needs of the populace of Biswanathpur block under PPP mode. This is the first ever Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) led Public Private Partnership in Orissa Health sector. The MOU has been signed based on the concurrence of Govt of Orissa and under the guidance of Mr. RS Gopalan, District Collector Kalahandi. Dr. Mukesh Kumar, Chief Operating Officer, Vedanta Aluminium Limited and Dr. Sushil Rath, Chief District Medical Officer, Kalahandi signed the MoU on September 23, 2009 at Bhawanipatna.

The MoU will facilitate Vedanta Aluminium Limited to upgrade the available infrastructure, quality of management, outreach program and indoor and outdoor facility for the benefit of local people. As per the arrangement, the ownership of the hospital will continue to remain with the Government and the management, operation, medical and outreach service will be taken up by VAL. The Company will provide comprehensive secondary health care, both referral and specialist, to the community through the hospital.

Signing the MoU Dr. Mukesh Kumar, COO, VAL said, “this has been a long-standing commitment to people of Lanjigarh and Vedanta will ensure that quality oriented healthcare service is delivered at the Hospital”. The Hospital will deliver specialized services in General medicine, general surgery, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Pediatrics, anesthesia, Radiology, dermatology, dental and AYUSH. In addition, Ambulance service will be provided by the Hospital.

The hospital will operate as a part of the Government health service network and National Rural Health Mission (NRHM). Chief District Medical Officer, Kalahandi and Zilla Swasthya Samiti (ZSS) will monitor the functioning of the Hospital. 

Mr. PK Hota, GM (CSR), Dr. Sabita Swain, Chief Medical Officer, Ms. Alka Minj, Associate Manager (CSR) of VAL; Mr. Prasanta Acharya, Chief Program Coordinator, NRHM, Bhubaneswar; Mr. Santosh Nayak, District Program Manager, NRHM, Kalahandi were present in the MoU signing ceremony.

Medical Support for Diarrhea Affected Lanjigarh block

In a response to control the spreading Diarrhea in Lanjigarh block Kalahandi, Vedanta Aluminium has joined hand with the district administration in taking number of measures to stop the spreading of the epidemic. The Company has set up temporary medical camps with one doctor and pharmacist in seven villages in the hilly tribal areas. It should be noted that at least 24 tribals have died due to diarrhea in Kalahandi district during the last two weeks.The Medical Teams are providing primary treatment and medicines to the affected persons. Critical patients are being sent to nearest hospital for comprehensive treatment. In last three days, the health team of the company has provided treatment to more than 110 people and referred more than 20 patients to local health centers. The villagers where temporary camps are set up are Kankutaru, Bandhapari, Musanal, Bengaon, Trilochanpur, Bijepur and Malijubang in Lanjigarh Block. Two teams of Doctors from BALCO have also joined with the medical team of VAL for the same. “We assure all support for prevention of the disease and we will continue the same for more time till situation comes under control,” Dr. Mukesh Kumar, Chief Operating Officer of VAL.

As a prevention measure, The Company has also taken up several awareness building initiatives in the area. Banners are put in villagers to sensitize the community on control of the disease. The CSR Team members are visiting the affected area and explaining the community about prevention and control method for Diarrhea.

Vedanta provides Electricity to Five Villages of Lanjigarh Block in Orissa

Bhawanipatna: Dr. Mukesh Kumar, Chief Operating Officer, VAL and Mr. A. Meher, Executive Engineer, WESCO, Eastern Division, Bhawanipatna inaugurated the ‘Project Ujjala – rural electrification’ village electrification work by Vedanta Aluminium in five villages of Lanjigarh Block in Kalahandi district on May 05, 2009. The Electrification work, carried out under ‘Project Ujjala’ will provide electricity to more than 700 households in Jagganthpur, Balbhadrapur, Kadamguda, Kendubardi, Simlibhata village of the block. Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Mukesh Kumar, COO said “Vedanta is committed to make lives of people in its periphery area villages better than before. Provision of electricity in these villages will definitely contribute to improve the quality of life of people”. He thanked WESCO for supporting the initiatives. Vedanta has set up entire infrastructure for the electrical connectivity. It has also installed electricity connection in each household along with the first bulb of the house. Electricity will be supplied by WESCO. Vedanta has started the Project Ujjala with an objective to provide electricity in its periphery area villages. The company has already brought lights in two villages – Basantapada and Rengopalli, near its alumina refinery at Lanjigarh. And four more villages are all set to get electricity very soon. The villages got electricity after Dr. Mukesh Kumar and Mr. Meher switched on the transformer in a function at Jagannathpur. Mr. Umesh Mehta, Vice-President; Mr. G. Murugesh, Head HR; Mr. Susanta Kumar Chand, AGM (Power Plant); Mr. Samiron Sarkar, Head (CSR); Mr. Rajesh Ranjan, Manager (CSR) and Mr. Pushkal Gopal; Associate Manager (CSR) were also present on the occasion.

Dongria Kondh women weave success with sal leave

Earning for them meant toiling on farmland or working as daily labourers under the sun. So when Katili Majhi of village Phuldumer received Rs 2370 by selling leaf plates, she could not believe her eyes.

And she was not the only woman. Around 318 women of 10 villages in Niyamgiri region are happy with their newfound income avenue. Thanks to the project ‘Jeevika’ run by Vedanta Aluminium Limited (VAL) under its Corporate Social Responsibility programme. All these Dongria Kondh women are collecting ‘sal’ and ‘siali’ leaves from the forest, stitching them into leaf plates and selling them.

On July 29, 2009, they sold 2,89,000 pieces of leaf plates for Rs 86,700 at 30 paise per plate. Now they are waiting to sell the rest 1,09,000 neatly stacked leaf plates. And the joy in their face is visible as Damayanti Majhi of village Trilochanpur said she earns about Rs 500 per week by selling leaf plates. The Project was launched by forming 53 Joint Livelihood Groups (JLG) comprising about 318 women from eight villages. VAL arranged for one-month training to all the women on leaf-plate making and took them to Balangir and Bhawanipatna for an exposure trip to help them acquire market knowledge. “The sole objective was to improve the quality of life and provide sustainable livelihood,” said Dr. Mukesh Kumar, Chief Operating Officer of VAL, Lanjigarh. NGO SHAKTI is implementing the project.

Later the women were handed over sewing machines to stitch the plates and today they are contributing about Rs 1000 each to their household income. “As the company has arranged for doorstep marketing of the leaf-plates through the NGO, we are not bothered about marketing,” said Kumtadi Majhi of village Khemdipadar. Representatives of the NGO regularly supervise the work and provide necessary technical support. The initiative is gradually drawing more and more women groups into the business.

“Very soon the project will cover more women in other villages and the focus would be on development of Dongria Kondh women,” informed Kumar. The intervention is reflecting on the quality of life and livelihood of the Dongria Kondhs and each woman is earning Rs 40 per day by making leaf-plates, revealed Gata Majhi of Niyamaraja JLG in Palberi village. Now many of them have stopped working as daily labourers and are focussing on the business as they are not only able to contribute to the family income but also are managing to do domestic chores.

Source: The New Indian Express, Ausust 23, 2009

http://www.expressbuzz.com/edition/story.aspx?Title=Dongria+Kondh+women+weave+success+with+sal+leave&artid=WVkQUDv7YW0=&SectionID=mvKkT3vj5ZA=&MainSectionID=b7ziAYMenjw=&SectionName=nUFeEOBkuKw=&SEO=VAL,%20Dongria%20Kondh,%20Damayanti%20Majhi,%20Dr.%20Mukesh%20Ku

Vedanta gives boost to quality education Lanjigarh

Giving a new momentum to quality education in Lanjigarh, Mr. Navin Agrawal, Deputy Executive Chairman of Vedanta Resources inaugurated the new block of DAV Vedanta International School, Lanjigarh on August 13, 2009. The new block is having latest facilities such as Science laboratory, Computer Laboratory, Math Laboratory, Library and art & craft room, in addition to the class rooms for students. Senior management team members of Vedanta, Mr. MS Mehta, CEO, Vedanta Resources; M. Siddiqi, CEO; Mr. Pramod Suri, CEO (Operations); Dr. Mukesh Kumar, COO, VAL, Lanjigarh, Dr. HK Mohanty, Regional Director, DAV Institutions, Ms.  S. Chakraborty, Principal, DAV Vedanta International School were also present on the occasion.
Addressing the students Mr. Agarwal said, “It is matter of pride that more than 250 students are getting high standard education in such a remote location. Vedanta is committed for providing most contemporary education in the region”.  He advised the school management to inculcate human values through quality education. Appreciating the academic achievement of students he also announced to launch a scholarship for meritorious students of the school. He presented prizes to students for their academic and extra-curricular achievements. On this occasion, all the senior management, including Mr. Navin Agarwal planted sapling in the school premises.
With an objective to provide quality education to children of the locality Vedanta brought in the most trusted and experienced education group DAV Institutions to Lanjigarh in 2006. From a modest beginning, the school now imparts education to 255 children from pre-nursery to class VIII. Out of them more than 200 children are from periphery area villages of Vedanta Alumina Refinery. Vedanta provides transport facility different areas to help the local students. With a firm base, excellent facilities and competent faculty, the School imparts the best education and gives an opportunity for all-round development to the students of the Locality.
Addressing the gathering, Dr. Mukesh Kumar, Chief Operating Oficer of VAL, said “the facilities provided at DAV Vedanta International School is no where less than that in any public school in metros”.  Dr. HK Mohanty, Regional Director, DAV Institutions thanked Vedanta for supporting the project and providing the new building. He said that while beginning the DAV management was apprehensive about success of the project as this will be a start of almost first generation education in English medium in the area.  However, it is a matter of satisfaction that the way local students are taking interest and coming up to expectation of DAV Standard.