Vedanta supported ICU facility at Jharsuguda COVID Hospital inaugurated

Jharsuguda : Vedanta Jharsuguda, India’s largest producer of aluminium and value-added products, has supported the ICU facility with essential medical equipment at Jharsuguda’s District COVID Hospital.

The newly ramped up ICU was inaugurated today by Odisha Health Minister Naba Kishore Das,  at a virtual ceremony, in the presence of Bargarh MP Suresh Pujari,  Brajrajnagar MLA Kishore Kumar Mohanty, Jharsuguda Dist. Collector Saroj Kumar Samal, and other eminent dignitaries of the region. Representing Vedanta, Chief Commercial Officer – Aluminium Business, Harshpal Singh and Birendra Tiwari, Head – Township Administration and Jharsuguda Site Advocacy, attended the virtual inauguration ceremony.

Speaking on the occasion, Vedanta Ltd. CEO, CN Singh, CEO  said, “We stand in solidarity with the state government and the people of Odisha at the time of need like this. We are extending all support to the state administration in their efforts to keep our communities safe, as we work on all fronts to safeguard our employees and families against the disease. We are working closely with the Jharsuguda District Administration in providing our full support to the District COVID Hospital as we aid in the effective management of the disease in the region.”

Jharsuguda Dist. Collector  Saroj Kumar Samal appreciated the company’s support saying, “Vedanta’s gesture of contributing critical life-saving ICU beds support to Jharsuguda’s COVID Hospital is truly appreciable. This will play a crucial role in saving lives and help us win the battle against the pandemic. I look forward to more support from Vedanta in the fight against COVID.”

Vedanta has rolled out several initiatives in Jharsuguda at the grassroots to ensure greater preparedness against COVID. Combating the ongoing second COVID wave, the company supported the District COVID Hospital in Jharsuguda with 20 ICU beds, 20 ventilators, 200 oxygen flowmeters and 2000 N95 masks, aiding the district administration’s endeavours to provide proper treatment to those ailing from the disease. It has also installed a diesel generator (DG) set at the hospital to ensure uninterrupted supply of power, and provided a 24*7 ambulance with healthcare workers for logistics support. Vedanta’s support comes at crucial times to the district administration as they relentlessly battle the pandemic to safeguard the people of Jharsuguda.

Last year, the company had helped set up the District COVID Hospital, by providing infrastructure and medical equipment such as beds and ICUs, ventilators, PPE and corona kits, oxygen cylinders and concentrators, medicines, and other essential supplies. Vedanta distributed over 1.6 lakh masks to the community and frontline workers. The masks were stitched by local women’s SHG under Subhalaxmi Cooperative, Vedanta’s flagship women empowerment project in Jharsuguda, thus providing them with a safe means of livelihood during the lockdown. More than 3300 ration kits were distributed to daily wage earners, slum dwellers and under-served families. Extensive awareness sessions on COVID were conducted across remote villages, and sanitization and disinfection activities were carried out in peripheral villages, public spaces, government offices, etc.

Vedanta’s social interventions in the domains of quality education sustainable livelihood, women empowerment, health, water and sanitation, bio-investment and community infrastructure reach out to a total of 72 villages in Jharsuguda and nearby areas, benefiting nearly 80,000 people in a year. It empowers more than 4000 women from over 330 SHGs, provides doorstep healthcare services to about 32,000 people annually, gives educational support to more than 6400 students, has planted more than 1.48 lakh trees in partnership with the community, and built 570 plus infrastructural projects at the community level.

Vedanta is India’s largest producer of green metal, aluminium, operating a world-class 1.6 MTPA aluminium smelter and 3615 MW thermal power generation facility in Jharsuguda, Odisha. The only Indian smelter in the global ‘1 Million Tonne’ production and export club, Vedanta Jharsuguda is a leader in value-added aluminium products that find critical applications across core industries. With one of the largest technically qualified and diverse workforces in the country, the company is working towards a sustainable and greener future for all by spurring emerging applications of aluminium, the ‘Metal of the Future