NTPC TAKES FIRM MEASURES TO COMBAT COVID-19

Bureau,Odishabarta

TALCHER:The role of power utilities has assumed greater significance as electricity is critical to ensure the smooth functioning of various sectors of the economy. Shri Gurdeep Singh, CMD NTPC and Regional Heads of NTPC are monitoring all developments and ensuring that there is no gap in Power generation.

To ensure uninterrupted power supply and the well-being of its employees, NTPC Talcher Kaniha is operating with minimum number of manpower while the rest of the employees are working from home or in shifts through the extensive IT support.

Even though In view of country’s lock down on account of COVID -19 Pandemic , the 3000 MW NTPC Talcher Kaniha ,second largest power station of NTPC is functioning  round the clock to generate power and provide continuous power supply  to East, South & North East India. This could be only possible with the untiring support of employees and workers working in Operational and Maintenance (O&M).

In addition, employees of Kaniha wholeheartedly have shouldered responsibility and have stepped forward with voluntary contributions exceeding Rs. 4 lakhs for distribution of grocery and sanitary items to various villages and Labour colony around its Plant. Under CSR initiative of the Station, masks and soaps are provided to villagers.Till date, the Station has distributed over 12000 masks to various stakeholders. The Station is undertaking massive sanitation drive using bleaching in and around the station.

Expediting its vigil against the global pandemic of COVID-19, NTPC has already utilised its 45 hospitals to make isolation facilities and procured the requisite equipment for the medical staff to handle such cases effectively. Two hospitals have been made ready for use by state governments to tackle COVID cases including the hospital at Badarpur in Delhi and medical college hospital of Sundergarh at Odisha.

As part of its initiatives to support the state governments to combat Coronavirus, NTPC is extending help to Odisha government by contributing Rs.35 lakh per month to support the cost of rental charge of the 120-bed Salandi Hospital at Bhadrak and the lodging and boarding of medical and paramedical staff engaged in the hospital for the smooth running of the COVID-19 Care Centre.

Availability and access to proper healthcare equipment is the need of the hour, a budget of nearly Rs 3 crores has been allocated the NTPC Management for procurement of equipment. At present, there are 7 ventilators in NTPC’s project hospitals. 18 Advanced Level Ambulances with ventilators. Another 18 ventilators and 520 thermal scanners are in the process of procurement for different hospitals.

Personal Protective Equipment and hand sanitisation have emerged as the biggest prevention mechanisms against the deadly Coronavirus, therefore, NTPC has shared testing, treatment and transport guidelines as issued by Ministry of Health and Family Welfare with all the CMOs. The Medical staff has also been trained over video calls about the use of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). Further 1200 PPE kits, 1,20,000 surgical masks and over 33,000 gloves, 5000 aprons, 8000 shoe covers and 535 litres of sanitizers have been dispatched to all the project and stations.