Concluding ceremony of Tata Steel's 11th Lifeline Express Camp held
December 23, 2006

Jagdalpur, December 21, 2006: Efforts in the right direction can indeed change one's fate. Earlier, in Bastar, if one became disabled, one had to accept it as one's fate. But, science has taken such rapid strides that with the help of artificial limbs and transplantation techniques even disabled persons can re-write their destiny. This was the observation made by Baliram Kashyap, MP, Bastar, today in the concluding ceremony of Lifeline Express camp at Railway Siding. Kashyap urged Varun Jha, VP, Tata Steel, to speak to Impact India to ensure that Lifeline Express visits Bastar and provides help to disabled persons in Bastar next year too. Kashyap promised all help to Tata Steel on behalf of the district administration in making such good initiatives a grand success.

More than 3900 patients were registered in the camp, organised jointly by Tata Steel, the Government of Chhatisgarh, Indian Railways and Impact India, out of whom 602 were operated upon. Equipments were distributed among 235 patients, while thousands of patients received free treatment along with medicines.

Presiding over the programme, Lachhuram Kashyap, MLA, Chitrakot, described the Lifeline camp in Bastar as a valuable imprint of Tata Steel. He said that due to poverty in Bastar, persons suffering from diseases and disability are compelled to lead a miserable life. But, he said, thanks to Lifeline Express and Tata Steel, the people of Bastar have now realised that disability is not a curse any more. He eulogised the doctors for visiting interior villages and extending help in bringing such patients to the camp.

Varun Jha, VP, Chhatisgarh Project, Tata Steel, expressed happiness at Tata Steel's role in ridding Bastar of disability. He said there are many diseases which cannot be treated completely and we try to help such people become self-reliant by providing them three-wheelers or wheel-chairs. But, he stressed, there was a growing need to launch an effort to eradicate such diseases completely. He said Tata Steel is planning to launch mother and child-care programmes to ensure that children get proper care immediately after birth.

He said that Bastar does not lack medical facilities, but the people cannot avail the existing facilities due to extreme poverty and the fact that they live far away from towns. He said poverty is the most important factor for onset of diseases and poverty can be fought only when factories are set up and new opportunities of employment are created.

Jha added that owing to a large number of patients suffering from eye diseases and a time constraint, 120 patients could not be operated upon and an arrangement is being made to organise an eye treatment camp between January 16 to 23 so that these patients are operated upon.