Tata Steel Meramandali’s measures to enhance road safety

Dhenknal : Safety has always been of paramount importance for Tata Steel Meramandali. To enhance road safety in and around the plant, the steel major developed three parking yards in addition to the existing parking space to accommodate inbound trucks to reduce vehicle load on NH 55.

One such big transport park has been developed on 6.8 acers of land near Itapa vilage. With one manned entry and one exit gate and 3 no of safety checking bays, it has 120 parking bays. It can handle 270 big sized trucks and trailers daily. There are safety professionals to check the fitness of the vehicles, COVID protocols and then allow parking inside. Besides the transport park has its own canteen, rest room and toilets as amenities for the drivers.

All the safety compliant vehicles are parked here, unless there is a call from the loading and unloading points and none is allowed to go to the plant during the no entry timings of the plant.

Besides this, two more parking yards have been developed near the material gate of the plant which can accommodate around 90 vehicles. Toilets, safety training centre for the drivers have also been developed there. In addition to this, another parking area near the plant alongside the NH is also in pipeline to accommodate around 100 more trucks in future.

To ensure trucks are not parked on NH 55 near gates of the plant, safety, logistics and security teams of the Company make regular inspection of the road. Additional manpower is being deployed for smooth traffic management on the NH during plant shift change timings near Itap village.

Additionally, to create a safety culture in the area, Tata Steel Meramandali is organising regular road safety awareness campaigns for the commuters, local villagers and school children. Recently during the road safety month, mass meetings, mega road safety awareness rallies, surprise alcohol checks, positive reinforcement on-road safety themes were carried out with the help of the district administration, Dhenkanal at NH 55, adjacent to the plant. Earlier, a month-long campaign on alcohol check was conducted on the NH covering more than 3000 commuters. Tata Steel Meramandali is committed to the safety and well-being of the community.