Tata Steel in association with Sankara Nethralaya is reaching out to the people of Sildauri village near Noamundi through its free cataract operation camp.

The camp which started on September 11, 2016 registered 299 patients till 15th September. The average age of the registrants is 45 years+. Out of the total registration, 71 patients have been identified for operation. This camp is spread across five Gram Panchayats – Jetis, Barapasia, Pateta and Pokharpee, covering 31 villages. The camp will continue till September 19, 2016.

The main objective of this camp is to reach out to the aged people with cataract in remote villages and gifting back the vision that have preventable blindness. This best-in-class cataract facility for remote villages are provided completely free of charge through the Mobile Eye Surgical Unit (MESU) developed by Sankara Nethralaya, Chennai in collaboration with IIT Madras. With the success of the venture in Tamil Nadu, Sankara Nethralaya expanded the project with support of Tata Trusts to Jharkhand with logistical and ground support by Tata Steel. The MESU Jharkhand unit was inaugurated by Honble Chief Minister of Jharkhand on July 31, 2016 at Jamshedpur. This is the first such camp after the inauguration of the MESU Jharkhand unit.

A team of two doctors, five paramedical staff and other supporting staff from Sankara Nethralaya are present in these villages for smooth implementation of the camp. In this endeavor, Tata Steel is a local partner in identifying the villages, getting permissions from the authority, sensitizing the community and building capacities for the support.

After the successful completion of this camp, three more camps (each for 10 days) will be organised in West Singhbhum area. The villages identified for the next camps are Mahudi village villages near Barajamda area and Kiriburu area. These initiatives are in line with Tata Steel’s commitment to improve the quality of life of the communities around its areas of operation.

About Tata Steel

Tata Steel Group stands among the top global steel companies with an annual crude steel capacity of 28 million tonnes per annum (MnTPA) and a turnover of US $17.69 billion in FY16. It is the world's second-most geographically-diversified steel producer, with operations in 26 countries and commercial presence in over 50 countries. Established in 1907, the Group’s vision is to be the world steel industry benchmark in “Value Creation” and “Corporate Citizenship” through the excellence of its people, its innovative approach and overall conduct. Underpinning this vision is a performance culture committed to aspiration targets, safety and social responsibility, continuous improvement, openness and transparency. Having bagged the Deming Application Prize and Deming Grand Prize for continuous improvement in 2008 and 2012 respectively, Tata Steel has now been recognised as the global ‘Industry Leader’ in ‘Steel category’ by Dow Jones Sustainability Index. Besides being one of ‘worldsteel’s’ Climate Action members, it has also been awarded the CII ITC Sustainability Prize, the ‘Best-in-class Manufacturing’ by TIME Award, the Prime Minister’s Trophy for the best performing integrated steel plant, among several others.