Vedanta Lanjigarh’s COVID-19 preparedness efforts reach over 1 lakh people
10th April 2020
Lanjigarh, Kalahandi District, Odisha; 10 April 2020: Vedanta’s alumina refinery in Lanjigarh, engaging with various stakeholders, has touched over 1 lakh people through its safety and prevention measures to fight against COVID-19. Vedanta is taking extensive steps to ensure that the community, associate partners, employees, other stakeholders and all their families are equipped and sensitized to respond to COVID-19.
The plant is running operations with minimum workforce and limited resources, adhering to all the COVID-19 guidelines issued by the central and state authorities. However, the organization has marshalled all its resources to undertake preventive measures for its employees, business associates and community at large in, around and far beyond its plant area.
Rahul Sharma, CEO- Alumina Business said, “Our communities are at the heart of everything we do. We have galvanized all possible resources to protect our communities from COVID-19 and we seek their support to ensure social-distancing and all precautions, to collectively combat COVID-19. We are firmly standing together in the face of this pandemic and the leadership team at Lanjigarh is closely monitoring how we can be of even greater service at this time of need.”
The company’s initiatives undertaken with the support and guidance of the district administration are varied:
- Over 1,00,000 washable cloth masks are under preparation through local self-help groups of which 40,000 have been distributed free of cost to the communities in tandem with the district administration.
- Over 100 self-help group members are being provided free of cost training, sewing machines and raw materials as required, so they have a regular source of income to support their families at this time, when sources of livelihood are scarce.
- The district administration’s COVID hospital in Bhawanipatna has been given 60,000 surgical gloves, 25,000 surgical masks in addition to surgical gowns, and 6,000 bottles of sanitizers.
- Over 20,000 soaps have been distributed to the villagers.
- Vedanta’s CSR team, Mobile Health Units, employee volunteers along with aanganwadi workers and health workers are covering over 70 villages to spread awareness on COVID-19 prevention and social-distancing, in addition to distributing masks and soaps.
- Over 1100 workers are being provided meals twice a day along with other essentials.
- Over 500 employees of Vedanta’s Lanjigarh refinery have voluntarily contributed one day’s salary for COVID-19 relief.
- The company’s 20-bedded hospital is in a state of preparedness to support the district administration. The hospital continues to serve about 7000 patients per month from the community. A 24×7 telephonic helpline has been set up by Vedanta hospital to address any queries or concerns on COVID-19 from the community.
- Fumigation and disinfection of all prominent public places, local areas, public offices and township are being undertaken.
- Police personnel have been provided with water coolers and water purifiers to aid them in this small way in the service they are doing for the community’s wellbeing.
- Thermal-gun temperature screening and provision of proper Personal Protection Equipment (PPEs), social-distancing, frequent hand-washing and other preventive measures have been undertaken for all personnel entering and working in the plant.
- Enhanced surveillance and restricted movement inside the plant and township premises to protect the employees and their families.
The company is continuing its preventive measures for the community in collaboration with the district administration, health workers, its employees and their families, business associates and NGO partners for wider sensitization to fight the pandemic. Several employees have volunteered to take care of food and medicine requirements of underprivileged families that have been adversely impacted by loss of livelihood due to social-distancing.
Vedanta is the largest producer of aluminium in India and remains the premier manufacturer of metallurgical grade alumina. The company operates a 2 MTPA (million tonnes per annum) capacity alumina refinery in Lanjigarh (Kalahandi district, Odisha), India since 2007 and an associated 90 MW captive power plant.
About Vedanta Limited:
Vedanta Limited, a subsidiary of Vedanta Resources Limited, is one of the world’s leading Oil & Gas and Metals company with significant operations in Oil & Gas, Zinc, Lead, Silver, Copper, Iron Ore, Steel, and Aluminium & Power across India, South Africa and Namibia. For two decades, Vedanta has been contributing significantly to nation building. Governance and sustainable development are at the core of Vedanta's strategy, with a strong focus on health, safety, and environment. Vedanta has put in place a comprehensive framework to be the ESG leader in the natural resources sector. Vedanta is committed to reducing carbon emissions to zero by 2050 or sooner and has pledged $5 billion over the next 10 years to accelerate the transition to net zero operations. Giving back is in the DNA of Vedanta, which is focused on enhancing the lives of local communities. The company’s flagship social impact program, Nand Ghars, have been set up as model anganwadis focused on eradicating child malnutrition, providing education, healthcare, and empowering women with skill development. Under the aegis of the Anil Agarwal Foundation, the umbrella entity for Vedanta’s social initiatives, the Vedanta group has pledged Rs 5000 crore over the next five years on social impact programmes with a thrust on nutrition, women & child development, healthcare, animal welfare, and grass-root level sports. Vedanta and the group companies have been featured in Dow Jones Sustainability Index, and was conferred Frost & Sullivan Sustainability Awards 2020, Golden Peacock Award for excellence in Corporate Governance 2022 and certified as a Great Place to Work 2022. Vedanta Limited is listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange and the National Stock Exchange.
For more information, please visit www.vedantalimited.com
About Vedanta Aluminium Business:
Vedanta Aluminium, a business of Vedanta Limited, is India’s largest producer of aluminium, manufacturing more than half of India’s aluminium i.e., 2.37 million tonnes in FY24. It is a leader in value-added aluminium products that find critical applications in core industries. Vedanta Aluminium ranks 1st in the S&P Global Corporate Sustainability Assessment 2023 world rankings for the aluminium industry, a reflection of its leading sustainable development practices. With its world-class aluminium smelters, alumina refinery and power plants in India, the company fulfils its mission of spurring emerging applications of aluminium as the ‘Metal of the Future’ for a greener tomorrow.
For more information, please log on to www.vedantaaluminium.com
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