A New Lease of Life

Adds Aspirational District Fellow, Prakash Rao, “Sanitary napkins were distributed free for a year. In the last three months, 8,414 packets have been distributed in tribal areas and educational department benefitting over 20,000 women across 15 gram panchayats.”
Kumari Yashoda Guha, who works at the centre, informs that on an average 200 biodegradable sanitary napkins are made per day. Under the project, each of the seven centres gets raw material for 90 days and Rs 24 lakh initially.

Nikita and Anita are the master trainers at the Chitalur centre. “The first machine for handmade napkins was installed at this centre. At that time, only 35-36 packets could be made per day. Now, with the new machine 250 pieces are made in one day,” says Anita. Nikita adds that it was difficult initially as villagers would threaten them, but “Rao sir allayed our fears. We have sold sanitary napkins worth Rs 80,000 till now. Out of this fund, we purchased raw material worth Rs 30,000. Our earning ranges from Rs 4,000-Rs 11,000 per person, depending on the hours the person puts in. There are 23 such SHGs”.

B.S. Tati, nodal officer for the institution, informs, “Around 3,000 students vie to get admissions here every year with thequalifying cut-off marks ranging from above 60-70 per cent and 58 per cent for ST candidates. Till now around 200 students have got admission to premier medical and engineering colleges in the state and other parts of the country such as National Institute of Technology (NIT), Indian Institute of Technologies (IIT), besides B. Pharma, B.Sc., (Nursing) and graduate course in Agriculture.” The centre also provides counselling for the students. The Karali campus has 317 girls and the Balud campus caters to 315 boys.

Nikita and Anita are the master trainers at the Chitalur centre. “The first machine for handmade napkins was installed at this centre. At that time, only 35-36 packets could be made per day. Now, with the new machine 250 pieces are made in one day,” says Anita. Nikita adds that it was difficult initially as villagers would threaten them, but “Rao sir allayed our fears. We have sold sanitary napkins worth Rs 80,000 till now. Out of this fund, we purchased raw material worth Rs 30,000. Our earning ranges from Rs 4,000-Rs 11,000 per person, depending on the hours the person puts in. There are 23 such SHGs”.

First semester students—Tekashwari, Aarti Yadav, Kritika Poya—studying in the electrical branch, wish to become engineers and help their families. Besides studies, sports are also given importance. Last year, the institute was the Zone 3 topper in sports and other extra-curricular activities with three winners from Bastar region.

Anand Tewari, Vice Principal, Saksham, points out the dining area where seating arrangements are not uniform. “They are of different levels so that students can sit according to their height. Also, wheelchair-bound children can be easily wheeled to the dining table.” There is a dedicated group hearing room. Learning finance management in a unique way, students run a banking counter and maintain their passbooks which show how they spend their pocket money. “One of our students cleared the CGPET exam in the first attempt, thanks to the smart classes,” says Sonpipre. Dormitories are named after popular figures such as Dr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, A.R. Rehman. Students with similar talents stay in the dormitory named afer the great figures.

Saksham students, trained under the ‘Hoslon ki Udan’ concept, have won laurels in the district sports. Students gifted in archery are coached by the Eklavya Khel Parishad. At last year’s state championship in Bilaspur, Saksham students won trophies in volleyball, cricket and many other sports. Priyanshi is in class 7 and has overcome a debilitating physical impairment, with only traces of the spastic condition on the left side. Saksham II has art and craft rooms, physiotherapy centre, library for the visually impaired and accessible bathrooms provided with sanitary dispensers. This was inaugurated on January 24, 2015.

Mid-day Meals & Buses, Karnataka:The Donimalai complex is sponsoring the mid-day meal scheme through Akshaya Patra Foundation since 2008-09. It has contributed Rs 88 lakh to provide meals to almost 8,000 children in 32 schools of Bellary District. The benefits have been manifold with reduction in dropouts and improvement in health and nutrition.

The complex is also providing free ‘pick-up and drop’ bus facilities to school children from Kammathur who are studying in Sandur. This facility is also available for students of Navalatti village who are studying in Donimalai Township since 2010-11.

High-Level Bridge over Dankini River, Dantewada:With two major rivers, Dankini and Shankini, converging at a certain juncture, monsoon submerged the region. The existing low bridge over Dankini did not help. So, when the people and local administration approached NMDC for support, the Company gave Rs 5.25 crore towards this in 2010-11.

Thanks to the new bridged, built in partnership with the Chhattisgarh government, people living in the region are no longer cut off during monsoon.
Tribal Haat-Bazaar Katiyaraas, Dantewada:With no place to sell their farm produce, the tribals living in the remotest hamlets were moving away from farming. This is when the district administration envisaged 19 Tribal Haats. In 2014-15, NMDC spent Rs 3.84 crore for this. Now, these serve as market links for the people and also have shelters for their products, particularly perishable items.

Shanti Dham and Nirashita Parihara Kendra, BellaryThe Donimalai Complex, along with district authorities of Bellary,has constructed a shelter-cum-home for those without a place to live. This was constructed at a cost of Rs 863.99 lakh in 2012-13. It has been beneficial for beggars, the mentally challenged,women, elderly people. It has a school for deaf and mute children. And it serves as a correction centre for young boys and girls.

Stadium at Sandur:Giving a boost to sports, a stadium is being constructed at Sandur at a cost of Rs 200 lakh. In the final stage of completion, it will help the youth become sports professionals.