On November 13, 2018, the inaugural workshop marking the beginning of L&T’s integrated community development project in Gudiyatham was held at JBR Palace in Madhanur, Vellore, Tamil Nadu. Under the project a slew of initiatives around watershed development are planned to help improve the lives of villagers spread across 11 villages. With the aid of NGO partner DHAN Foundation which undertakes development activities by engaging and training educated professional and serving disadvantaged communities, the L&T’s CSR team will implement measures that will help farmers treat degraded land and adopt sustainable agricultural practices. Besides, the project will also promote agricultural and livestock farming activities and encourage villagers to adopt healthier lifestyles. All the programs will be implemented with active participation of the villagers and the community.
The project was formally launched in the presence of a number of senior government officials, representatives of DHAN Foundation, Board of Directors from Gudiyatham Farmers Producer Company, and over 250 farmers. Among those present were, Mrs. C Subbulekshmi, Joint Director Agriculture, Vellore, Dr. T Santhakumari, Joint Director Animal Husbandry, Vellore, Mr. S Raman, Deputy Hydrologist, TWAD, Vellore, Mr. Viswanathan, Assistant Director of Agriculture, Gudiyatham, Mr. Venkatesh, Assistant Director of Agriculture for Watershed Development, Gudiyatham, and Mr. K Balaji, Block Development Officer, Gudiyatham. From L&T, Mr. Gautam Kar, Head, Corporate Infrastructure & Administrative Services, along with members of L&T’s CSR team Ms. Mable Abraham, Ms. Swati Pongurlekar and Ms. Mitali Naik attended the inaugural event.
Mrs. C. Subbulekshmi, Joint Director of Agriculture, Vellore, thanked L&T for supporting the small and marginalized communities of Gudiyatham and Pernambut taluks and appreciated DHAN Foundation’s work in the region.
Addressing the gathering, Mr. Gautam Kar noted how L&T’s integrated community development projects in some of the other parts of the country have positively affected the lives of tens of thousands of people. He appreciated DHAN Foundation for its continued work and said that L&T had found a great partner in them for implementing its ideas in the region.
Project leader Mr. M Palanisamy from DHAN Foundation thanked all the participants of the workshop and requested the government officials to extend their support for better implementation of the project.
After the workshop, L&T and DHAN members travelled to Parvathiyapuram village of Goodanagaram panchayat to perform the Bhoomipuja for a borewell project under which nine borewells are to be constructed to cater to the drinking water needs of nine villages in the area.
