Reaffirming its commitments towards promotion of biodiversity, Tata Steel at Noamundi organised the second edition of “Snakes are Friends”, a unique programme based on snakes, on the occasion of World Forestry Day. The theme for this year’s World Forestry Day is “Forests and Sustainable Cities”. Amidst huge gathering of school children and stakeholders, Mr Anand Bihari, Range Forest Officer, Chaibasa inaugurated the event along Mr R P Mali, Chief Noamundi Iron Mine, Tata Steel and Mr Praveen Dhall, Chief Processing & Logistics, Ore Mines & Quarries (OMQ) Division, Tata Steel.

Interacting with the gathering, Mr Bihari lauded the unique initiatives taken by Tata Steel in West Singhbhum. He applauded programmes like Snakes are Friends, Jaiba Kala Vividhata and Prajatiya Khadyotsav that are targeted towards community entertainment which not only educate people on Biodiversity and  help them expand their understanding but also sensitise young children on biodiversity. “It is nature that churns the wheel of life and we should all do our bit in maintaining the balance”, he said.

Popularly known as the snake man of Odisha, Mr Subhendu Mallick, General Secretary and Founder of Snake Helpline, and honorary Wildlife Warden, Khurda, Odisha shared interesting facts and myths related to snakes and advised the community to visit hospital in case of snake bites. Mr Sajid Idrisi, Conservation Biologist of INTACH, New Delhi on a similar note, through his presentation, talked about the role of humans in maintaining the harmony in the ecosystem.

On the occasion, members of the newly formed Vann Suraksha Samiti were facilitated by Tata Steel for their ongoing forest protection work in this area. Cultural Fuldo dance presentation from Basudevpur, Odisha, magic show for children, dance and skit by Tata DAV, Noamundi, Tata DAV, Joda and RBC, Joda kept the happy mood going. A total of 164 school children early in the morning participated in the sit and draw competition on biodiversity. Winners were later awarded by the Chief Guest. Stalls were also put up by local vaidya`s (traditional village healers) to showcase the use of traditional medicines in curing diseases.

About Tata Steel

Tata Steel Group is among the top global steel companies with an annual crude steel capacity of 27.5 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) as on March 31, 2017. It is the world's second-most geographically-diversified steel producer, with operations in 26 countries and a commercial presence in over 50 countries. The Group recorded a consolidated turnover of US $18.12 billion (INR 117,420 crore) in FY17. Tata Steel Group is spread across five continents with an employee base of nearly 70,000. 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 (2015). Besides being a member of the World Steel Climate Action Programme, Tata Steel has also been felicitated with several awards including the Prime Minister’s Trophy for the best performing integrated steel plant for 2013-14 (received in 2017), Best Risk Management by CNBC TV18 (2016), ‘Best-in-class Manufacturing’ award from TIME India (2016) and the ‘Most Ethical Company’ award from the Ethisphere Institute (2016), IIM Sustainability Award (2015), among several others.

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