Orissadiary.com, Jan 16, 2010
Lanjigarh (Odisha): It was a great day for the people of Lanjigarh in Kalahandi district as they met former President of India Bharat Ratna Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam for the first time. Amidst great joy and excitement of the people cutting across all age groups throughout the day, Dr Kalam inaugurated the Mid-Day Meal Center established by Vedanta Aluminium Limited, at Lanjigarh. This center through its Mid Day Meal Programme shall provide nutritious food to 30000 children in 273 schools of Lanjigarh block, in the first phase.
This programme will be run by Naandi Foundation in collaboration with Vedanta Aluminium Limited and the Government of Orissa. In a phased manner this programme intends to cater to about 1Lac children of Kalahandi and Rayagada districts. It aims at enhancing the nutritious food value for children of Classes I-VIII in government aided schools as well as to increase their school attendance. Through this programme school children shall be provided freshly cooked food prepared in the Centralized Kitchen.
During his visit Dr. Kalam shared a few moments with the children who came from different local schools and Childcare Centers of Vedanta Foundation. He personally appreciated Vedanta `s initiative for catering to the need of such a large number of children. He said that the Mid Day Meal program itself is a noble initiative of the government and such activities and can be successful to a greater extend with private partnership. Vedanta is playing a very important role and can set an example for others, as quality food and health is of great importance and will result in improving the mental faculty of children.
This enterprise of Vedanta is one more step towards its endeavor in creating a healthy and self-sufficient community around its plant. Vedanta has always been surging ahead with innumerable social development initiatives, which has greatly impacted the lives of the people.
In his concluding remark, Dr. Mukesh Kumar, Chief Operating Officer of Vedanta Aluminium Limited, said "This is one step further in reducing malnutrition and school dropout in Lanjigarh" and promised Dr Kalam that Vedanta will increase the capacity to provide the midday meal to more children in the area".
Dr Kalam, the pioneer of the concept of "India Vision 2020" was visibly pleased to see Lanjigarh, once a remote location, transformed into a developed area. He got a glimpse of all urban amenities already available at Lanjigarh in line with his novel concept PURA ( Providing Urban Amenities in Rural Areas), as a step in the right direction to build a developed India. He thanked the Vedanta team for bringing about a sea change here and wished them all the very best for their future endeavours. Dr Kalam expressed his optimism that Vedanta would be able to bring about sustainable development in the region with the co-operation of one and all.
Kalam opens Vedanta mid-day meal scheme in Lanjigarh
The Pioneer, Jan 17, 2010
PNS | Lanjiga (Kalahandi)
The people of Lanjigarh, cutting across all age groups, were overwhelmed with the presence of former President APJ Abdul Kalam in their midst on Saturday. Dr Kalam inaugurated the Mid-Day Meal Centre established by Vedanta Aluminium Limited (VAL).
The centre, through its mid day meal programme, will provide nutritious food to 30,000 children in 273 schools of the entire Lanjigarh block in Kalahandi district in the first phase. The programme will be run by the Naandi Foundation in collaboration with VAL and the State Government.
In a phased manner, the programme will cover about 1 lakh children of Kalahandi and Rayagada districts. It aims at enhancing the nutritional status of children from Classes I to VIII in the Government-aided schools, thereby increasing their school attendance. The children will be provided freshly-cooked food, prepared in a centralised kitchen. This initiative of Vedanta is one more step towards its endeavour in creating a healthy and self-sufficient community surrounding its plant.
Kalam shared some moments with the children who came from different local schools and childcare centres of the Vedanta Foundation. About 2,000 children were present to exchange pleasantry with Dr Kalam. He also addressed a gathering of 200 VAL employees before leaving for Bhawanipatna. He emphasised providing nutritional food to prevent sickle cell disease in the area.
VAL Chief Operating Officer Dr Mukesh Kumar informed that VAL had already taken up a programme to control sickle cell. Till now, nine cases of sickle cell has been identified. “We will consult nutrition experts to provide healthy and nutritious food to children,” he assured. State Labour and Employment Minister Puspendra Singh Deo accompanied Kalam.
Dr Mukesh Kumar briefed about Vedanta’s development activities in the areas of health, education, infrastructure and livelihood in line with “India Vision 2020.” developed by Dr Kalam, who got a glimpse of all urban amenities already available in Lanjigarh in line with his novel concept of PURA (Providing Urban Amenities to Rural India). He was optimistic that Lanjigarh would be able to bring development in the region with the cooperation of one and all.
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