Lanjigarh (Odish- Kalahandi ): Vedanta’s alumina refinery in Lanjigarh is working with marginalized farmers in the area to develop a vegetable cultivation plan and has distributed seeds to the ones most in need. The initiative aims to mitigate the effects of COVID-19 on agriculture and allied activities in the area.
Vedanta’s Lanjigarh plant has already touched well over 1 lakh people in the area through itsprecautionary and preventive measures. In this subsequent phase, in the fight against the globalpandemic, the alumina refinery is looking at restoring and sustaining the livelihood of the localcommunities. As part of this effort, the Vedanta team has helped develop a vegetable cultivationplan for the local farmers, whose source of income has been impacted adversely by COVID-19.Under this initiative, the plant is ensuring availability of good quality seeds of bitter gourd,cowpea, ridge gourd, etc. to the local farmers in need, in collaboration with the Agriculture andHorticulture Department.
The team has reached out to over 100 farmers in nearby villages, suchas Kadamguda, Balabhadrapur, Harekrushnapur, Chhatrapur, Bundel, Kapaguda, Kenduguda,Dengsargi and Basantpada in the first phase of this vegetable cultivation plan, which will helpthem in the cultivation of vegetables in kharif season.
CEO Rahul Sharma said, “At Vedanta, we are committed to enabling our communities become self-reliantand self-sufficient. As part of this endeavour, we have perceived the need to support the farmers in the areas around our operations to help restore their livelihood. We are extending all possible support to help the people affected by this pandemic and bring their lives to normalcy. We are closely working with the government alongside our people and partners to emerge fromthese trying times stronger together.”
