Tata Steel continues its momentum to fight COVID-19

Jamshedpur,: Tata Steel continues its momentum to fight COVID-19 through its medical efforts and community led initiatives. 

 TMH Jamshedpur, the first and the only private hospital in the state of Jharkhand to be certified by Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) for RT-PCR diagnostic test for COVID-19, has conducted over 500 COVID-19 tests so far, and all of it has been negative. The testing lab is conducting 70 tests per day. The hospital is also treating around 1300 patients via the telephonic OPD services and 300 emergency cases under the observation of specialist doctors.

 Tata Steel through Tata Steel Foundation (TSF) launched a 10 point #CombatCovid19 programme for the communities in and around its operational areas. This includes meals and ration distribution to vulnerable communities, digital volunteering programmes for children and elders, digital counselling sessions for the depressed, building a listening post for the migrant labourers, digital empowerment of Sahiyyas and Anganwadi workers, working together with district administrations and NGOs for better coordination on CSR work and more.

TSF has reached out to 4 lakh individuals in Jharkhand and Odisha through various initiatives under the #CombatCovid19 programme. 20 lakh meals have been served to the needy in 128 locations during the whole lockdown period. The foundation has distributed 33,000 ration packages so far. 110 farmers have benefitted from the ‘From the Farm’ programme, which has provided market linkages to their farm produce through online platforms like Zomato and Swiggy. 9500 Kgs of vegetables have been sold through the online platforms, generating an income of Rs 3.75 lakh so far.

The ‘Cash for Work’ programme has resulted in creating income opportunities for 14000 people through vocations like wall art, paintings and local crafts. So far, 1100 people have successfully grown their own kitchen gardens in their homes. The foundation initiated this facility three years ago and have benefitted 3000 families so far. 45 families are up-cycling newspapers to make bags and so far produced 3000 bags to generate income for themselves. A total of 1.1 lakh masks have been made and this served as an effective way for families to generate income at home.

As part of ‘Digital Bridges 2.0’ programme, TSF has reached out to 5100 stranded migrant workers through several helpline services like helping them with registration, linking them with doctors or counselling services, and more.