The Vedanta Aluminium has dedicated 16 community ponds and 14 borewells in Katikela, Dalki, Parmanpur and Badmal Gram Panchayats (GP) of Jharsuguda region, to ensure post-monsoon water availability for households, agriculture and livestock. The company worked with local communities to carry out deep cleaning of the ponds for ground water recharge and rainwater harvesting, and repair of handpumps.The crucial eco-system restoration process will prevent further deterioration of the local water resources, and ensure water availability for nearly 3,000 people.Vedanta has also constructed changing rooms for bathers near all the ponds, and put-up information materials on cleanliness and personal hygiene to sensitise people on various health issues. Dedicating the ponds to community, Deputy CEO – Vedanta Limited, Jharsuguda Deepak Prasad said, “Water is a critical shared resource, we have a hawkeyed focus on water conservation at and beyond our operations. In our mission of becoming a ‘Zero Harm, Zero Waste and Zero Discharge’ operation, we undertake tracking and monitoring of local water availability, along with estimation of future changes, and we have put in place a robust water management system that takes into account water’s criticality to sustaining ecology and communities around us.” Ward member of Purna village, Dalki Gram Panchayat, Supriya Pandey adds, “We are thankful to Vedanta for cleaning our village pond, which will benefit the 500-600 residents of the village.