Tata Steel has been endeavoring to promote healthy lifestyles among its employees and their families. In this regard, the Company has been organising awareness programmes in areas where it operates.

 

The most recent instance of such an initiative was the conduct of a health awareness programme at Bichakundi in Keonjhar district in Odisha on 8th February 2012. Employees of Bichakundi Manganese Mine actively participated in the awareness session.

 

Dr. D Satpathy of Tata Hospital, Joda chaired a session on the occurrence of common diseases among the employees of manganese mines. Besides, emphasis was also given on prevention of diseases like diabetes, blood pressure and hypertension among others.

 

 

Bee Keeping is an agro based enterprise, which farmers can take up for additional income generation. In this context, Tata Steel Rural Development Society (TSRDS), Bamnipal organised a two day training on apiculture in collaboration with Balasore Bee Keeping Society.

 

The training was organised at Dahar Sahi, a village near Bamnipal in Keonjhar district of Odisha on 8th & 9th February 2012. It aimed at supporting these farmers to do apiculture systematically. It was attended by 16 farmers belonging to the villages surrounding Bamnipal. Mr Prafulla Chandra Mahanta from Balasore Bee Keeping Society joined as trainer in the awareness camp.

 

On the second day of the training programme, farmers were taken to the field to catch bees. The trainer guided the trainees for catching the Queen Bee and the group. TSRDS provided the necessary kit to the farmers for apiculture. The trainer also guided the participating farmers in proper use of the instruments.

 

 

Tata Steel Rural Development Society (TSRDS), in association with Sukinda Chromite Mine (SCM) Hospital organised a tubectomy camp on 7th February 2012. Dr. SK Dua, Chief Medical Officer, SCM Hospital inaugurated the camp. In all, 51 cases were operated on after final evaluation.

 

Dr. RN Senapati, Specialist in Obstetrics and Gynaecology, performed the tubectomy operations. All doctors and staff nurses of SCM Hospital actively participated in the camp. Dr. Jayant Kumar Tripathy, Senior Medical Officer, TSRDS and Mr Satya Narayan Nanda, Unit Head of TSRDS, Sukinda coordinated the event.

 

Next day, TSRDS in collaboration with District Blind Control Society, Jajpur, organised a follow-up cataract surgery camp for the patients who had undergone cataract operations on 29th December, 2011 and 29th January 2012.

 

 

Tata Steel has been taking proactive measures to promote education in the remote villages in and around its areas of operation. As an endeavour in this direction, OMQ Division of Tata Steel in collaboration with DAV Public School Authorities has set up a new DAV Public School at Joda in Keonjhar district of Odisha.

 

To improve the quality of education available to the community, Tata Steel has set up a new DAV School at Joda in Keonjhar district of Odisha. The new Tata-DAV Public School is located near the Vocational Training Centre at Joda West.The classes (from Nursery to Class-IV) will start from the 2012-13 academic session.

 

Tata Steel has extended all the support required for functioning of the School like new building, desk & benches, computers and other study materials. Initially, educational instructions would be available from nursery to Class IV in CBSE pattern.

 

Mr HM Nerurkar, Managing Director of Tata Steel, during his visit to Joda in the last week of December 2011 had visited the newly constructed school building. This institution is expected to improve the quality of education of the children in Joda area.

 

 

Due to lack of awareness, a good number of people in Bamnipal area suffer from diseases related to water & sanitation. Though preventive measures can reduce the menace, traditional practices and lack of awareness act as the stumbling block in this regard.

 

In this backdrop, the Bamnipal unit of the Tata Steel Rural Development Society (TSRDS) organised a series of awareness programmes pertaining to water and sanitation. It organised ten awareness programmes in the nearby areas during May-November, 2011. In all, 528 participants including 265 women participated in these awareness programmes. The local PRI members, Anganwadi workers and ASHA workers were roped in for these programmes.

 

During the awareness sessions, efforts were made to convey the message in a simple manner. The deliberations focused on choice of safe drinking water & its preservation, cleanliness, sanitation, use of toilet, food hygiene, etc. Similarly, emphasis was given on children’s health, as they are the most affected.

 

 

Republic Day, one of the important national celebrations of India, was observed by the OMQ Division of Tata Steel.

 

A grand celebration was organised at the Joda Central Play Ground to observe the 63rd Republic Day. Mr RR Satpathy, Chief (Joda) joined as Chief Guest and hoisted the national flag. School children from 13 nearby schools took part in the programme. Mr Sathpathy distributed fruits to indoor patients of the Tata Steel Hospital, Joda.

 

An exhibition cricket match was also organised between JCO, Khandbond & JEIM employees on this occasion. The 63rd Republic day was also celebrated at the Ferro Alloys Plant (Joda), Bichakundi Manganese Mine, Malda Manganese Mine, Bamebari Manganese Mine.

 

Mr BD Nanda, Head (FAP) hoisted the national flag in the presence of officials and employees of FAP. Six employees were awarded for their long service.

 

Mr Manikanta Naik, Head, Manganese Group of Mines hoisted the national flag at the Bichakundi Manganese Mine in the presence of officials, employees and local people. At Bamebari Manganese Mine, Mr. Asit Nayak (Sr. Manager, Mines Operation) hoisted the national flag.

 

 

The 63rd Republic Day was celebrated by Tata Steel at Gopalpur. March past, flag hoisting and sports events marked the celebrations. Mr A K Ojha, General Manager, Gopalpur Project hoisted the national flag at the project site office near NTTF, Gopalpur.

 

While Mr Daniel Das hoisted the tricolor at the project site in the presence of Mr Ojha and Mr Anjan Sengupta, Head (Projects), Dr NC Mohanta, Head, Rehabilitation & Re-settlement (R&R) hoisted the national flag at the Rehabilitation Colony.

 

A friendly cricket match between our associate partners M/s Das & Sons and Tata Steel was organised. Tata Steel team led by Mr AK Ojha, GM won the match by seven wickets. A music chair contest for women was also organised on this occasion.

 

 

The 63rd Republic Day was observed by Sukinda Chromite Mine (SCM) with a lot of joy and enthusiasm. National flag was hoisted at the Chrome Ore Beneficiation (COB) Plant, Atwal Workshop, Stewart School, Sisumandir and the Central Playground. Mr LS Divakera, General Manager, unfurled the tricolor and took the salute at the Central Playground.

 

Addressing the gathering, Mr Divakera stressed upon the necessity of economic growth, education, honesty and community development initiatives for the Society.

 

School children from Saraswati Sisu Mandir, Stewart School, Shramasakti High School and Bravo Security took part in the parade. Guide team of Stewart School was adjudged the best parade team while Saraswati Sisu Mandir was the runners’ up.

 

Long service awards were given away to 112 employees of Sukinda who have rendered service ranging from 20 to 40 years. While special award for bravery was given away to 10 security personnel, 32 meritorious school students were provided scholarships. Later, Mr Divakera joined the awardees in a tea party.

 

Accompanied by Mr RC Pradhan, General Secretary and Mr BK Sahu, President of the SCM Workers’ Union, Mr Divakera went to the SCM Hospital and distributed fruits to the patients. In the evening, Mr Divakera joined the officers in a patriotic programme held at the Chrome Valley Club.

 

 

Mr GP Sahu, Head FAP, Bamnipal along with union officials unfurled the National flag on the 63rd Republic Day on 26th of January 2012. Eligible employees received long service awards from Head, FAP on this special occasion and meritorious school children also received awards on this occasion.

 

Earlier, a suggestion award function was organized on 21st January, 2012. Mr GP Sahu, Head, FAP (Bamnipal) awarded forty eight employees for their valuable suggestions for implementation, giving benefits to the organization.

 

 

Aroids are grown globally and they have the potential to increase world food production. However, only a limited number of aroids are cultivated as food crops, compared tothe large number of aroids grown as ornamental plants.

 

In this context, to create awareness among the farmers regarding the importance of aroid crop as well as up scaling the area under aroid cultivation through use of appropriate technology identified by the scientists, a special session on Farmers-Scientist-Industry interface on aroid crops was organised at Bhubaneswar.

 

Tata Steel, which has been piloting various farmers’ training programmes in Odisha, sponsored the session. It was organised on the sidelines of a Global Conference on Aroidson 24th January 2012. About 70 farmers from Odisha, Bihar, Chattisgarh and West Bengal participated in the session. There were 13 presentations on the topic from different quarters like scientific research, farming community (Bihar and Odisha), industry and NGO. 35 farmers from Tata Steel’s operational areas like Joda, Kalinganagar, Gopalpur and Bamnipal actively participated in the workshop.

 

Dr VP Updhayay, Director (S), Ministry of Environment and Forests, Eastern Regional Office, Bhubaneswar and Chairman of the session, emphasized that the research output of scientists should not be confined to laboratories. Instead, it should reach farmers field, enabling them to take advantage of technology. He also pointed out that tuber crops are farmer friendly as it requires lesser water, input and human resource while rendering more output.

 

Dr SK Naskar, Director, Central Tuber Crops Research Institute (CTCRI), Trivandrum briefed about the initiation of the introduction of aroids in Odisha through Orissa Tribal Empowerment and Livelihoods Programme. Since farmers were keen to have more knowledge pertaining to different aspects of Aroids like availability of seeds, skills for cultivation, marketing and profitability of aroids, the deliberations of the session came in handy for them.

 

Mr Sanjeev Mahapatra, Senior Manager, CSS (Joda), Dr Pranab Das , Sr. Manager, CSS-Kalinganagar, Mr Tanmay Kar, Unit Head , TSRDS (Gopalpur) and Mr Sisir Tarafdar, Unit Head, Bamnipal unit of TSRDS, Mr Aswini Prasad Mohanty, RE and Mr Digza Prasad, RE actively participated in the workshop.

 

 

Tata Steel Rural Development Society (TSRDS), in association with the Bhubaneswar based SM Foundation and Tata Steel Hospital, Joda organised a two day cataract operations camp at Joda in Keonjhar district of Odisha on 19th & 20th January, 2012.

 

Mr Bijay Ketan Upadhya, Sub Collector of Champua sub-division inaugurated the camp. About 332 patients hailing from Joda, Barbil, Champua, Koida area availed the services of the camp organised at the Joda West Auditorium Hall. Out of them, cataract operations of 140 patients were performed by SM Foundation led by Dr Srimant Mishra.

 

Mr D B Sundara Ramam, GM (OMQ), Mr R R Satpathy, Chief (Joda), Mr Anurag Dixit, Chief (KIM), Mr Manikanta Nayak, Head, Manganese Group of Mines, Mr Saroj K Banerjee, Head (Engineering Services, OMQ), Mr Rajpal Sinha, Head (HR/IR,OMQ), Dr B R P Rao, CMO, Tata Steel Hospital, Dr A K Roy, Dy. CMO, Tata Steel Hospital, Joda, Mr Sanjeev Mohapatra, Unit Head, TSRDS were among the dignitaries present on this occasion.

 

On the concluding day, Mr Sashank Sekhar Das, Tehsildar, Barbil Tehsil joined as the Chief Guest. Mr R R Satpathy, Chief (Joda), Mr Anurag Dixit, Chief (KIM) joined as guests on this occasion.

 

 

The Manganese Group of Mines (MGM) of Tata Steel located in Keonjhar and Sundergarh districts, won eleven prizes in different categories at the 14th Mines Environment & Mineral Conservation Week-2011-12. The 14th Mines & Mineral Conservation Week was organised under the aegis of Regional Office of the Indian Bureau of Mines, Bhubaneswar. Mr Ranjan Sahai, Controller of Mines (CZ), IBM joined as the Chief Guest.

 

During the concluding day celebration in Bhubaneswar, Joda West Managanese Mine of Tata Steel bagged 6 awards. While it won the first prize for Waste Dump Management and Top Soil Management, the mine bagged the second prize in afforestation, installation & use of mechanised beneficiation facility and overall performance. Mr J K Moharana, Sr. Mines Foreman was given away the Paryabaran Bandhu Award (Non-Executive category).

 

Bamebari Manganese Mine also bagged the first prize in reclamation & rehabilitation, and noise, vibration & other scientific study. It also bagged the second prize in publicity & propaganda category. Similarly, Malda Manganese Mine bagged the first prize in publicity & propaganda and second prize in reclamation & rehabilitation category.

 

 

Tata Steel Rural Development Society (TSRDS) has always endeavoured to provide better health services and improve quality of life of the people living in and around its areas of operations.

 

To ensure better health care services for the nearby villagers, TSRDS continues to substantiate its commitment by organizing health camps from time to time. It organised a free medical camp “Sanjeevani” at the Marutikar village under Kumbhiragadia Gram Panchayat in Danagadi Block under Jajpur district of Odisha.

 

The specialist doctors from Hi-Tech Medical College, Bhubaneswar including Dr Pradeep Behera (Medicine), Dr G S S Mohapatra and Dr Priya Gupta (Gynecology), Dr S V P Rao (Surgery) and Dr Sudeep Haldhar (Pediatric) treated the patients. Dr Pranab Kumar Das (Unit Head) and Dr Parameshwar Jena (Medicine specialist of TSRDS) assisted the team in consultation and treatment of the patients.

 

About 482 patients from Marutikar, Tikar, Kumbhiragadia, Khapuriapada, Kendudhipi villages availed the free service of the health camp.

 

 

Tata Steel has been working for the promotion of education in the Joda area in Keonjhar district of Odisha. It has taken up several measures for improving the school infrastructure in the nearby areas.

 

As a measure for improving the infrastructure at Joribar UP School under Joda Block, Ferro Alloys & Mineral Division (FAMD) constructed 3 additional classrooms. The newly constructed classrooms were inaugurated by Mr Sashanka Sekhar Das, Tehsildar of Barbil Tehsil.

 

Mr Manikanta Naik, Head, Manganese Group of Mines, Mr Asit Nayak, Sr. Manager (Operations, Bamebari Manganese Mines), Mr Girish Sharma, Sr. Manager, Security (Khandbond Iron & Manganese Mines), Mr Bulu Pradhan, President, Tata Steel Ferro Alloys & Manganese Division workers’ Union, Mr Suru Mohanty, Secretary, FAMD Workers’ Union were among the dignitaries present on this occasion.

 

FAMD division of Tata Steel renovated this School with an expenditure of Rs. 12 Lakh. The renovation work included construction of 3 additional classrooms, boundary wall, colouring and provision of new furniture.

 

 

Facilitating gainful employment to the youths in Sukinda area has been a priority area for the Tata Steel Rural Development Society (TSRDS). As part of its livelihood programme, TSRDS is providing in-house vocational training to the selected village youths in welding, driving and site safety.

 

Thirty youths belonging to Sukinda area were sent to Chennai based Pan IIT Alumni Reach for India on 16th January, 2011. The organization is engaged in providing skill development training and ensures 100 percent placement. Recently, TSRDS tied up with Pan IIT Alumni Reach for India.

 

Mr Chakrayudha Hotta, ADM, Kalinganagar flagged off their journey to Chennai. Mr Manas Samal, Tehsildar, Sukinda, Sushanta Kumar Mishra, Chief (Mining), Mr A K Ghosh, Head (Admn), Mr Satya Narayan Nanda, Unit Head, TSRDS were among the dignitaries present on this occasion.

 

Welding training would be imparted to those selected youths from 18th January to 1st March, 2012.