BALCO, a tale of stockholders’ unwavering vow
   Date :26-Aug-2020

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Our Correspondent :
 
KORBA,
 
The 5.5-decade long journey of BALCO can’t be termed as the journey of just an industry, but rather it is the tale of an unwavering vow by all the stockholders and their journey to success and strength. It is not the story of a plant and its machinery, but rather a story of those traders, hawkers, doctors, teachers, engineers and labourers, who grew along with BALCO, sharing each and every moment of their struggle. They watched the lanes being transformed into wide roads, the mud-houses into brick-houses and the dark streets being illuminated with electricity at the same time as the brains ligthened up with education. The technology evolved with time, turning life easier for those surrounded by it.
 
BALCO always kept educational development at the forefront. BALCO CEO and Director Abhijeet Pati said that education introduces us to our rights and responsibilities. Since its establishment, BALCO has always invested in development of educational facilities. He expressed his joy at the brilliant results of students from Balconagar. He added that BALCO is dedicated to the all-round development of educational facilities. With the aid from Balco management, Bharat Aluminum Karmchari Shikshan Samiti (INTUC) has been providing free education to the needy children at Bal Sadan Higher Secondary School. Samiti President Jaiprakash Yadav said that the school has been in operation for past three decades and BALCO has given important contribution in various facilities at the school.
 
With 90 per cent of its students belonging to the BPL category, the school is giving major contribution in educating the future citizens of the nation. Former BALCO employee Kishan Yadav said that BALCO is investing in the education of our future citizens. He said that his daughter, Alankriti Yadav has studied from Central School, Balco, and is now an engineer at Poland, while his son Aniruddh Yadav studied from Delhi Public School, Balco and is now a software engineer at Bengaluru. He said that certain investments yield benefits for not just one but several upcoming generations. The investment by Vedanta Group in BALCO, post 2001, is one such investment which redefined development. Several schools from Balconagar have been giving excellent results.
 
The students from these schools have earned fame in the country and abroad. DPS has been operating in the area for past nine years. There are several other schools which are aided by BALCO management and give excellent results in terms of successful students. The schools operated by central and state education boards are also engaged in providing quality education to the children of BALCO officers, workers and contract labourers. Over 5000 students in the area are benefitted by the schools run with aid from BALCO. Vedanat Study Centre is operated under Project Connect. The project has been started while keeping in view the students who cannot afford expensive coaching and tuitions.
 
 
The Centre provides classes for English, Science and Mathematics. The success of this project can be easily understood from the fact that several students of this centre have been selected for engineering colleges. Also, the result in board exams has improved considerably. 50 officers and workers of BALCO volunteer for educating about 200 students at the centre. BALCO has also started Child Care Centres in its operational areas. These centres look after children belonging to the age group of 2 to 5 years. The children are given nutritious food along with means of entertainment to instill interest towards education. At the same time, BALCO is also working towards strengthening Divyang children at Vedanta Therapy and Rehabilitation Centre.
 
The centre has been set up for children who cannot see, speak or hear or are mentally retarded. The centre is run by Inner wheel Education Society and provides facilities for physiotherapy, speech therapy, work therapy and behavioural therapy for these children. In 2019, BALCO started first Divyang Skill Development Training Centre of state at Divya Jyoti Hostel premises for blind and deaf children. The centre trains these children in skills of hospitality, computer, beautician and stitching. The centre, named as Vedanta College and Rehabilitation Centre for Deaf and Blind, is proving immensely useful in making these youth self dependent.