Angul: Jindal Steel and Power situated at Angul, Odisha marked World Environment Day 2024 with a series of engaging activities, highlighting the year’s theme “Land Restoration, Desertification and Drought Resilience”. Early in the morning, the Angul Location Head Mr. Pankaj Malhan flagged off a mini-marathon called “Run for Environment” where all the Head of the departments including SMS Head Mr. Atul Dubey, Yoga Guru Swami Satyabindu Saraswati, employees with their family members and community members were participated and planted around 600 saplings after the mini-marathon.
Speaking at the event, Mr. Pankaj Malhan, emphasized the company’s commitment to environmental sustainability. Adding a unique dimension to the event Yoga Guru Swami Satyabindu delivered a motivational speech to adopt environment-friendly practices.
The celebration aimed to raise awareness and encourage action towards sustainable land management practices emphasizing the individual commitment to environmental conservation.
To inspire the environmental consciousness among the younger generation, Children’s Drawing competition was organized, spanning three age categories from class 1 to 12. The competition encouraged children to creatively depict themes related to land restoration, desertification, and drought resilience, resulting in a collection of vibrant and thought-provoking artworks.
The celebrations also included a Ladies’ quiz and essay competition for the spouses of the employees, fostering a sense of community and collective responsibility towards the environment. For employees, an online quiz competition was also held, testing their awareness and knowledge about environmental challenges and sustainable practices.
The event concluded with the distribution of prizes to the winners of the drawing, quiz, and essay, run for environment competitions, recognizing their efforts, and encouraging continued engagement with environmental issues.
JSP Foundation, the social wing of JSP which implements the Natural Resource Management Programme, has promoted more than 200 Eco Clubs in the schools of Angul to create environmental awareness in the future generation. An integrated watershed program is being implemented to control soil erosion and enhance groundwater recharge in a catchment area of about 5000 acres.