Tata Steel hosts Lifeline Express in Orissa
January 4, 2007

Lifeline Express, a 'hospital on rails', which is being hosted by Tata Steel at Meramundali Railway siding in Dhenkanal district of Orissa, started off its operations today. Sanjay Pattnaik, chief resident executive (Orissa) of Tata Steel started off the operations of Lifeline Express today at Meramunduli. This is the fourth such occasion Tata Steel is hosting Lifeline Express in Orissa after Goplapur, Daitari and Jajpur. Tathagata Satpathy, honourable member of parliament, Sudhir Kumar Samal, honourable member of legislative assembly and J Ahmed Khan, collector (Dhenkanal) visited the Life Line Express today along with others.

The 'hospital on rails', equipped with a modern operation theatre, which offers free diagnostic, medical and surgical treatment for prevention and curative interventions, would be starting its activity in Meramundali from January 3, 2007. The hospital would be stationed there till January 25, 2007. The activity and preliminary screening for Lifeline Express was initiated in November 2006 in more that 60 CHC and PHC in Dhenkanal and Anugul districts. Till date more than 5000 persons have reported to the screening camps.

On the first day, it would take up cases on orthopaedics and OPD. Orthopaedics operations would start from the next day, ie, January 4, 2007. Camps on plastic surgery will start from January 7, the ENT camps from January 14, and the eye camps from January 18.

The Lifeline Express is an international initiative, which began in 1981 in England to prevent and cure avoidable disablement. With technical and managerial support from Voltas, a leading company of the Tata Group, Impact India was set up in 1983 to start the Lifeline Express initiative in India. Eight years later, with the Indian Railways and Voltas playing a major role, this unique model for India's disabled was launched. Lifeline Express (Hospital on Rails) in India is used to provide medical services for the rural populace in interior areas having railway connectivity. Indian Railways, Impact India, Rajiv Gandhi Foundation, Government of Orissa and Tata Steel are jointly coordinating the hosting for this hospital in Meramundui, Dhenkanal.

Till date, Tata Steel has sponsored Lifeline Express eleven times and on the twelfth occasion it is hosting Life Line Express in Meramunduli in Dhenkanal district of Orissa. Prior to this, Tata Steel had hosted Lifeline Express on three occasions in Orissa, namely at Gopalpur, Daitari and Jajpur Road. More than 50,000 patients have benefited from the Lifeline Express initiative of Tata Steel.