Corporate pitches in for flood relief

Bhadrachalam (Andhra Pradesh): As they pack food for the people in flood affected areas, one might mistake them for regular relief workers.

The employees of ITC's paper-board plant at Bhadrachalam are a busy lot. They are making food packets to be airdropped in the neighbouring flood affected areas.

Because of relentless rains, Godavari has flooded and marooned more than hundred and sixty near Bhadrachalam.

"We are the biggest corporate in Bhadrachalam and we thought that we should ensure that the people around us do not suffer. We will do whatever we can to help the people," says General Manager, Personnel and Administration at ITC, K K Sasikumar.

The Khammam district authorities had sought ITC's help in relief operations. But instead of extending just finances like many corporates do, the company offerred to provide food and drinking water in affected areas as well.

Professional cooks were hired and over 300 ITC employees and their families have been on the job, working in three shifts, round-the-clock.

Everyday, ITC is distributing about 40,000 food package and 40,000 water packets among the flood victims.

Going by the volume, this can be considered as one of the biggest relief operations taken up by any corporate in the country.

But there's still a lot more that needs to be done. As present, authorities are finding it difficult to even feed the thousands of people marooned in flooded villages and relief camps.

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