Post one of the heaviest down pour in different parts of Orissa including the Joda valley of Keonjhar district and many places in Balasore district where life came to a halt, on the request of the Government of Orissa, Tata Relief Committee (TRC) has rushed to the site to rescue and distribute relief to the flood affected. Transportation and other activities came to a standstill and the rural populace was subjected to insurmountable trouble. The relief operation at Balasore stared on July 10, 2007 to ease life for the affected. Relief has been distributed to almost three thousand families in two blocks namely Bastra and Baliapal till date. TRC aims at moving ahead three blocks and cover around five thousand families by July 16, 2007.

In consultation with the district administration of Keonjhar, Tata Steel Rural Development Society (TSRDS) has also started medical relief and sanitation work on July 8, 2007 among the flood affected rural areas of Joda and ensured services of its medical and para-medical staff. Two Mobile Medical Vans of TSRDS have been sent to serve in rural areas around Joda.

In addition to these services rendered during this emergency situation at Joda, on the request of SDO - PHED, Tata Steel supplied 20,000 litres of treated drinking water to Joda based Cess Hospital for the treatment of the ailing patients. This is in addition to the regular supply of 10,000 litres of water by Tata Steel to Joda Municipality since last summer, post the scarcity of water.

Tata Steel initiated immediate action to repair the damaged bridges at Joda, which had crippled the traffic as well as telecommunication network. As an instant measure, embankments of the bridges are being repaired which were washed away by the rain. The flood has also affected the telecommunication system in Joda and adjoining areas. Tata Steel is making efforts to repair the damaged portion of the bridge, paving the way for BSNL authorities to restore the telecommunication lines.

About Tata Steel

Established in 1907 by its Founder J N Tata, Tata Steel is the flagship of Tata Group, the largest and most respected business house in India having interests in Steel, Automobiles, Telecom, IT, Energy, Hotels. The Tata Group comprises around 90 companies with total turnover of US$22 billion, equivalent of around 3 per cent of India's GDP.

Tata Steel has one of the most modern steel making facilities and is also one of the lowest cost producers of steel in the world. It has been rated as the world's best steel company for the past three consecutive years by World Steel Dynamics. World over, Tata Steel currently has a capacity of around 26 million tonnes per annum including its recent takeover of Corus and has the second largest global distribution network in 45 countries. Tata Steel which has also set benchmarks in the fields of corporate social responsibility and corporate governance firmly believes in improving the quality of life of its employees and the communities it serves. Tata Steel aspires to become 50 million tonne Steel Company by 2015. The cooperation between VSC and Tata Steel signals the beginning of strong growth of the Steel Industry in Vietnam. It is also a socially responsible organisation and its relief operations have always helped in providing comfort to the affected. One of the major initiatives as a part of relief work has been the construction of 609 house and 25 school-cum-cycle shelters for the super cyclone affected victims of Orissa in 1999. Tata Steel has also extended its relied operations in Orissa during the floods of 2001, 2004 and 2006.