Vedanta extends support to COVID-19 Vaccination Drive for the community in Lanjigarh
Lanjigarh/ Kalahandi (Kalinga Voice) : Vedanta Limited, Lanjigarh, the premier producer of metallurgical grade alumina in India, has joined hands with the District Health Administration of Kalahandi, Odisha, to conduct COVID-19 vaccination drive for the community. Conducted in collaboration with the Community Health Centres of Lanjigarh and Biswanathpur, the drivewill cover more than 60 villages in the periphery of Vedanta’s alumina refinery plant,reaching out tonearly 1200 people.
The vaccination drive is being conducted at both Community Health Centres free of cost, as per the government guidelines. Vedanta has come forward to assist the programme by mobilizing the beneficiaries from their villages to the vaccination centres. The company is also conducting door-to-door survey and counselling for the villagers through its community awareness team and Mobile Health Unit (MHU) to maximize the programme’s reach. So far, more than 600 beneficiaries have already been administered with the first dose of the vaccine.
Speaking about Vedanta Lanjigarh’s contribution to the programme, Mr. G.G. Pal, Deputy CEO – Alumina Business, said, “Vedanta Lanjigarh is making all possible efforts to support the government authorities in making the COVID-19 vaccination drive a success. Towards this end, our multi-speciality hospital in Lanjigarh has been recognized as the first Private COVID Vaccination Centre (PCVC) in Kalahandiand we are supporting the district health authorities in conducting the vaccination program. Vaccination through community health centres will further increase the rate of people getting vaccinated by making it accessible to the villagers. We will continue our efforts and keep on extending our support in the combat against COVID-19.”
Appreciating the company’s efforts,Mr. Kamaraj Dalbehera, Retired Headmaster – Govt. High School, Lanjigarh, said, “Vedanta Lanjigarh has come forward with all required support in the prevention of COVID-19, since the outbreak of the pandemic, in supporting the district health authorities. The efforts being made by the company towards making the vaccination drive successful is commendable. The vaccination, being critical to control the spread of COVID-19 seeks support from different segments of the society. This reflects on the responsibility and commitment of Vedanta towards the community.”
Vedanta’s social interventions in the domains of sustainable livelihood, women empowerment, quality education, health, water and sanitation, bio-investment and community infrastructure reach out to a total of 69 villages in Lanjigarh and nearby areas, benefiting about a lakh people in a year. It empowers more than 3000 women from 305 self-help groups (SHGs), provides healthcare services to about 30,000 people annually, gives educational support to more than 2800 students, has planted more than 5.4 lakh trees in the community, and built 500 plus infrastructural projects at community level.
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.
