Water kiosks have been set up and water tankers deployed to provide drinking water and cool beverages to travellers and local communities
Jharsuguda: With the summer heat increasing, Vedanta Aluminium, India’s largest producer of aluminium, has resumed its annual ‘Jal Sewa Shibir’ initiative to help local public beat the summer heat. Water kiosks have been set up at Bhurkamunda village, Sarbahal Chowk, Prasanna Panda Chowk, Badheimunda Chowk, Jharsuguda Railway Station and Bus Stand, to provide free drinking water, ORS, lemon water and buttermilk to travelers. The kiosks attend to about 8,000 people on a daily.
Vedanta Aluminium has also deployed water tankers to provide drinking water to communities in 17 locations across 11 wards of Jharsuguda who are facing acute water shortage currently. This is helping nearly 25,000 people access clean drinking water daily. Earlier in the year, the company undertook its annual endeavour of cleaning and deepening ponds and other local water bodies, preparing them to harvest water during rains to ensure post-monsoon water availability in villages. In addition, the company has created several water infrastructures in its peripheral villages, like ponds, tube wells, dug wells, percolation tanks, etc. to ensure water availability round the year. Additionally, the company is also working to retain the green cover in the region, by ensuring regular watering of the saplings planted along the State Highway, which will eventually provide shade to travelers during summer.
Dedicating water kiosks to the public, Mr. Sunil Gupta, CEO – Vedanta Ltd., Jharsuguda, said, “The wellbeing of our communities is of utmost importance to us, and our developmental initiatives in the region are aimed at improving their quality of life. It is heartening to see our Jal Sewa Shibir helping thousands of citizens in Jharsuguda during these extreme weather conditions. Water is a critical shared resource between us, our communities and the ecology. We are committed to creating a sustainable water footprint in Jharsuguda, through efficient water management and by working with local communities to make them climate resilient.”
Appreciating the company’s efforts towards making available drinking water to public, Mr. Manoj Kumar Tandi, Executive Officer – Jharsuguda Municipality, said, “Vedanta Aluminium’s has time and again supported the Jharsuguda District Administration in providing clean drinking water to people living in the water-stressed regions of Jharsuguda. I commend the company for partnering with us every year for this initiative and helping us alleviate summer-related woes of the residents.”
Vedanta Aluminium, a business of Vedanta Limited, is India’s largest producer of aluminium, manufacturing more than half of India’s aluminium i.e., 2.29 million tonnes in FY23. It is a leader in value-added aluminium products that find critical applications in core industries. Vedanta Aluminium ranks 2nd in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) 2022 world rankings for aluminium industry, a reflection of its 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.
