Team News Riveting
Raipur, November 18
A webinar to mark ‘Janjatiya diwas’ celebrations for recognising the work done by SAIL-Bhilai Steel Plant for tribals was organised on November 16, 2021 under the banner of ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav’. The webinar was organised by Regional Outreach Bureau, PIB.
Padmashri Dharmpal Saini, freedom fighter and social worker, Jagdalpur, Kailash Malhotra, GM (Mines), SAIL-BSP, Jitendra Kumar Premi, Associate Professor, Pt. Ravi Shankar Shukla University, Raipur were the Panelists, Abhishek Dayal and Shailesh Phaye from ROB, Raipur, academicians, social workers and learned persons from Jagdalpur took part in the webinar.
Kailash Malhotra, GM (Mines), SAIL-BSP during his address stated that BSP has been undertaking Corporate Social Responsibility activities on a large scale in the field of Health, Education and Rural Infrastructure including construction of roads, drinking water etc in its peripheral areas from the 1970s. Later, the concept of Model Steel villages was conceived. Besides CSR activities provides in these MSVs, BSP has been carrying out CSR activities on large scale for tribal population in its mining areas. Shri Sachin Rangari, AGM (Projects) who is actively involved in carrying out the CSR activities In Rowghat area also spoke about CSR activities for tribal population in Dalli-Rajhara Mines and in Rowghat Mines Project area.
Kailash Malhotra and Rangari spoke about free education with lodging-boarding facility that BSP has been providing to tribal children from areas surrounding Dalli-Rajhara Mines from Class 6 to 10. Free education is also being imparted to tribal children at DAV English Medium School located in Antagarh in Rowghat area that is totally funded by BSP.
As on date, 333 students are studying in this school. BSP has also constructed roads en route to the school for easy access to go the school by school bus. Tribal girls from Rowghat area are selected and sponsored by SAIL-BSP for Nursing courses in Bhilai. Around 200 tribal girls including some from villages in the jungles of Abujhmarh have completed Nursing courses at PG College of Nursing, HUDCO, Bhilai and Apollo college of Nursing, Durg.
Malhotra and Rangari also spoke about medical facilities being extended by BSP. The largely tribal population living in interior villages of the region have little access to medical facilities. As many as 143 Health camps have been held in Rowghat area since 2007 in which 55,000 patients have been treated. Out of this, 750 patients with critical ailments have been referred and treated in JLN Hospital and RC. SAIL-Bhilai Steel Plant in collaboration with Ramakrishna Mission Ashram, Narayanpur is now providing mobile medical services free of cost to the tribal population in 22 buffer zone villages surrounding SAIL-Bhilai’s Rowghat Mining Project area in Bastar region.
As per MoU signed with Ramakrishna Mission Ashram, Narayanpur for a period of 15 years, SAIL-Bhilai has provided grants to cover one-time expenditure for procurement of well-equipped bus cum ambulance for providing mobile medical services, for construction of housing facility for doctors and medical/health service staff of Rowghat mobile medical services at RK Ashram and for recurring annual expenditure to facilitate uninterrupted medical & health services. About 5000 patients from buffer zone villages have benefitted since April 2021, including in-patient treatment at RK Mission Hospital at Narayanpur, for which SAIL-Bhilai has provided grants.
Malhotra and Rangari also spoke about other CSR activities including strengthening of rural infrastructure in the villages by installing solar powered borewells, constructing roads and providing electrification etc as also about job offers given to tribal youth from families affected by construction of railway line. Ministry of Railways, State Government of Chhattisgarh and SAIL are constructing Broad Gauge (BG) rail link between Dalli-Rajhara and Rowghat over a stretch of 95 kms. As many as 133 persons, including over 100 tribal youth from Railway Project Affected Families displaced by the railway line have so far been given employment by BSP after their ITI training.
Earlier, presenting his views, social activist, Padmashri Dharampal Saini said small processing units based on forest produce should be set up for Bastar’s all-round development. Tribals are also now eager to bring changes in their standard of living and join the mainstream of society. This has been possible by developing roads and roadside villages as well as cities, Shri Saini added.
Field officers of Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, officials of Bhilai Steel Plant, Officers of non-govt. organisations, cultural artists, students of colleges etc. took part in the Webinar.
