The Business Bytes
TBB BUREAU
LANJIGARH, MAY 15, 2023
The Lanjigarh Unit of Vedanta Limited, India’s premier producer of metallurgical grade alumina, has undertaken extensive efforts to boost community awareness towards preventing and mitigating incidences of malaria in Kalahandi and Rayagada districts of Odisha. Recently, the company organised awareness drives across 13 villages in the vicinity of its operations, led by medical experts from the Vedanta Hospital in Lanjigarh to mark World Malaria Day.
The awareness sessions included live demonstration on how to properly use mosquito nets, and insights into identifying common locations of mosquito breeding. The sessions also stressed upon the importance of keeping the neighbourhood clean, and free of stagnant water and waste. Long Lasting Insecticidal Nets (LLINs) were also distributed to community members as part of the awareness drives.
Vedanta Lanjigarh’s mission to eradicate malaria commenced in the year 2010, when cases of malaria were drastically high in the region, impacting mortality rates among adults and infants. Recognising the need for urgently creating access to quality medical care, the company started organising regular health camps and awareness sessions for community members, and deployed Mobile Health Units (MHUs) to ensure medical coverage in far-flung areas. It also set up the Vedanta Hospital at Lanjigarh in 2010 which today caters to the healthcare needs of over 60,000 people each year. Together, these efforts have led to a 79 per cent decrease in malaria cases in the region, with only 251 cases recorded in FY 2022-23.
Highlighting the aim of the malaria eradication project, Vedanta Limited Deputy CEO (Alumina Business) GG Pal said, “Ensuring the total health of the community has always been a top priority for Vedanta Limited, Lanjigarh. Good health lays a strong foundation for long-term progress, and this has led us to develop comprehensive healthcare services for our community. Our teams, which include medical experts, employee volunteers and SHG partners, are making consistent efforts to make Kalahandi and Rayagada districts completely malaria-free in the near future.”
Sharing the project’s impact on community members, Lanjigarh Block Vice Chairman Sanjeev Naik said, “Previously, it was difficult for us to access proper healthcare due to our remote locations, forcing us to travel long distances. Vedanta has provided us a hospital with very good facilities and free treatment. The Mobile Health Unit also continuously makes visits to our villages and helps us keep proper track of our health. This is backed by regular awareness sessions that allow us to preserve the vastly improved health that we now enjoy.”
The Vedanta Hospital in Lanjigarh is a 20-bed facility which provides free treatment to community members, employees and business partners, and is the well-equipped medical facility within a radius of 60 kms. Its MHU team visits over 60 villages monthly to ensure the wellbeing of community members in the plant periphery.
Together with other interventions in education, livelihood, grassroots sports, art & culture, with a focus on women and child development, Vedanta Lanjigarh is driving holistic development across rural Odisha.
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.
