Gandhinagar: The fourth State Disaster Response Meeting (SDRM) for Gujarat was held at the Tata Chemicals office in Gandhinagar, Gujarat, on January 30, 2020. Fourteen participants from eight Tata companies attended the meeting to discuss the measures taken post the floods of 2017, and the various drought mitigation and cyclone relief initiatives undertaken by the Tata companies in the state over the past couple of years.
Shohab Rais, COO, Indian chemicals business, Tata Chemicals, and convener of the platform, welcomed all the members and highlighted the need for more collaboration in disaster response. Mr Rais suggested collaborative efforts on policy, advisories, creating a bench-strength of core volunteers, and more.
Shrirang Dhavale, Tata Sustainability Group (TSG), spoke about the importance of SDRMs and how they have helped leverage support from companies and to respond more effectively to communities in need. Participants were taken through the Tata group’s disaster response framework and the ongoing response programmes. He shared the key learnings and good practices from the response programmes in Bihar, Odisha and Maharashtra that were led by various Tata companies. He also shared TSG’s work with Tata companies in international geographies like Nepal and the plans to engage with Tata Chemicals in Magadi, Kenya, to further efforts in the international sphere.
Prantik Sarkar, Tata Chemicals, discussed the Gujarat floods response programme of 2017 that was led by Tata Chemicals. He took the participants through the activities carried out during the relief and rehabilitation phase. He discussed the current status of the seven anganwadi centres renovated as part of the rehabilitation phase and how the communities were looking after the assets. Mr Sarkar also discussed the various measures taken to support the drought-impacted communities of Mithapur and the precautionary measures taken by the company for Cyclone Vayu in 2019 in their surroundings. Tata Chemicals’ SOP on preparedness for their company operations and safety of their employees was also shared.
Pradeep Ghosal, Coastal Gujarat Power, discussed the efforts undertaken by the company for villages gravely impacted by drought — with activities such as drinking water distribution and fodder for cattle. These interventions were much appreciated by the Government of Gujarat.
The meeting ended with a vote of thanks by Alka Talwar, Tata Chemicals, who assured that as the lead company, Tata Chemicals, in collaboration with all the Tata companies in the state, would continue to support the Tata group’s disaster response efforts whenever the need arises.
