Embassy Office Park REIT(NSE: EMBASSY / BSE: 542602) (‘Embassy REIT’), India’s first and only listed REIT, has been committed to reduce the impact of the COVID-19 virus since its outbreak. In line with its corporate ethos to work with local communities, Embassy Office Parks has launched various initiatives in the cities of Bangalore, Mumbai, Noida and Pune with a focus on extending support to the police and fire personnel serving on the frontlines of the pandemic.
Mike Holland, Chief Executive Officer Embassy REIT said, “The coronavirus outbreak is first and foremost a human tragedy, affecting hundreds of thousands of people across the globe. The Government’s efforts in curtailing the spread of the disease are truly commendable – it is also the duty of every corporation to help in providing supplemental support and relief where possible. At Embassy Office Parks, we have focused our efforts to support community workers and have invested over INR 1 crore to combat the COVID -19 crisis, with significant interventions.”
Supporting Police and Law enforcement agencies
While maintaining order and ensuring that citizens are obeying lock-down, the traffic police are at a greater risk of contracting the virus. To aid them in conducting their duties in a safe and healthy manner, Embassy REIT has set up eight hydration stations in multiple cities where Embassy properties are located (Bangalore, Pune, Noida and Mumbai). The stations are equipped with drinking water, tea/coffee, refreshments, access to first aid and toilets. These hydration stations are open 24 hours a day so that police personnel working across shifts can take rest and refreshment between shifts.
In addition, Embassy REIT has procured hand over 50,000 sanitizers, more than 1,00,000 disposable protective masks and nutritional snacks for the task forces in these cities. Everyday over 15,000 police employees are supported by this initiative and this program has touched the lives of over 2,00,000 police personnel till date.
Dr. B. R. Ravikanthe Gowda, Joint Commissioner of Traffic, Bengaluru City Traffic Police, added, “We were very grateful and pleasantly surprised when we were approached by Embassy to offer their support to our entire force. As the traffic police personnel are working day and night to contain the spread of the virus, we are taking precautions to safeguard their health as well. Such acts of kindness and generosity have really been encouraging and motivating to the entire force.”
Furthermore, Embassy REIT has provided regular sanitisation and fumigation to police stations and fire stations in multiple cities. Regular servicing along with donation of fumigation equipment have helped in curtailing the spread of the virus and protecting the lives of the social workers.
Mr. Madhukar Panday, Joint Commissioner of Police, Traffic, Mumbaisaid, “We are thankful to the Embassy team, who have been supporting us through this tough phase by providing sanitizers, nourishment and for setting up 2 hydration points to help the on-ground traffic police personnel.”
Caring for the community
To alleviate the distress faced by the migrant workers & daily wage earners, Embassy activated its collaborative model for conducting social responsibility projects. This resulted in internal employees along with various corporate tenants and partners contributing over INR 115 lakhs to provide dry rations, nutritious meals, clean water and sanitation to contribute towards over 3,00,000 meals.
Communities in and around the business parks, government schools in the vicinity, daily wage and migrant workers, construction workers in camps and people below the poverty line in different geographies have been regularly supported with cooked meals or dry food rations. Construction workers at Embassy site have additionally benefitted from the provision of clean drinking water, handwashing stations and safety measures such as the regular sanitisation of their living spaces.