Bhilai Steel Plant (BSP) is undertaking a number of CSR initiatives to bring about meaningful and concrete difference in the quality of life of Tribal people living in Rowghat area of the insurgency hit Narayanpur district of Bastar region. BSP the biggest steel producing unit of SAIl has initiated the procedure to reach Rowghat mines and in the bargain through CRS work BSP is easing the Tribal residents of the area into the national mainstream.
The importance of Rowghat area could be understood as it has estimated deposit of around 1400 million tons of iron ore and presently the ores being excavated from mines in Dallirajhara , which would exhaust in coming 4 to 5 years.
The BSP officials informed that CSR activities are being carried out unflaggingly in the surrounding villages of Rowghat in Narayanpur and Kanker district situated closer to captive mines of Bhilai Steel Plant. Armed with the desire to take education, health care, sports and other such amenities into this backward area, BSP’s Mines CSR Department has taken the decision to open a dispensary at Antagarh in the Rowghat area. It has also been decided to open a residential school for children of 22 buffer villages of the Rowghat area in Narayanpur district.
Resources are being mobilized with the aim of providing basic amenities such as water and electricity to the remote and backward villages of Narayanpur. At four villages to which electric lines are yet to be drawn, nearly 300 houses have been provided with solar lighting facilities. In 2013-14, it plans to install solar lights and pumps in further 16 villages. 60 hand pumps have been installed for providing access to water, officials said.
Officials further informed for past many years, the BSP Mines CSR has been striving to provide high quality medical assistance in the remote villages of Rowghat. Towards this end more than 80 medical camps have been organized at Binjli and Tadoki villages so far where 36,700 person have been examined and provided medical assistance, 5632 persons have been distributed with spectacles and sickle cell tests have been conducted on 1528 persons. Mines CSR’s enduring effort to alleviate suffering of seriously ill persons has seen 560 patients being referred to Bhilai for medical and surgical attention.
Bhilai Steel Plant is equally concerned about the scholastic development of children of Rowghat area. Every year 10 children are adopted for residential schooling from class 6 onwards. Under this scheme, presently 40 children are studying in Rajhara. In fact, SAIl, BSP has been providing 60 scholarships each year to students from Class-6 to Class XII since 2011. Under this scheme nearly 12 lakh are disbursed every year.
SAIl-BSP is sponsoring girl students of Rowghat area in Nursing course. The number has increased from 2 to 20 from 2012. At present a total of 22 girls are undergoing nursing training in Bhilai. Every year 20 girls will be inducted in this course from Rowghat mining and Rail line project affected families. Further 108 farmers have been provided residential training on modern agricultural practices at Indira Gandhi KrishiVishwaVidyalaya, Jagdalpur.
It has also been planned to conduct 20 medical camps at Rajhara along with drilling of 4 bore wells, providing free education to 101 tribal students from Rowghat and Rajhara that will also include free boarding and lodging and women empowerment and livelihood activities at Nalkasa and Kopedera.