Tata Steel to construct two Adarsh Vidalayas in Dhenkanal

Dhenkanal: The foundation stone for construction of an Adarsha Vidyalaya (Model School) was laid on Wednesday by Tata Steel at Rajmohanpur village in Hindol block of Dhenkanal district.

This is part of the company’s initiative to create high-quality education infrastructure in remote parts of the state.

Hindol MLA Seemarani Nayak, Dhenkanal district collector Nikhil Pavan Kalyan, and corporate services chief of Bhusan Steel Manikanta Naik laid the foundation stone for the school.

While complimenting Tata Steel for taking the initiative to construct the Adarsha Vidyalaya in Hindol, Nayak urged the local community to take advantage of the quality education that will come to their doorstep.

Appreciating Tata Steel’s efforts, Kalyan said, “Local students will benefit from the school and govt will start the class at the earliest once construction is over.”

Naik said, “Children living outside big cities and towns deserve the same quality of education and infrastructure as cities of the state. The new Adarsh Vidyalaya at Hindol is part of Tata Steel’s commitment to construct 30 such schools in Odisha in the larger interest of the community. Another Adarsh Vidyalaya will be soon built in Odapada block of Dhenkanal district.”

Tata Steel has recently acquired Bhushan Steel located at Kantabania of Dhenkanal district.

The new school, to be built on a 5 acre land at a cost of Rs 5 crore, will include a two story building spread over 25,000 square feet built-up area. The school will be equipped with modern facilities and infrastructure including a dedicated computer room, library, laboratories, staff room, principal’s chamber, prayer and assembly point and separate washrooms for girls and boys.

The new school is expected to be ready in a year and will be constructed by Jamshedpur Utilities and Services Company (JUSCO), a subsidiary of Tata Steel. Upon completion of construction, the school will be handed over to the State government.

In order to make quality infrastructure available to students in far-flung areas in the state, in 2016, Tata Steel had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Government of Odisha to construct 30 Adarsha Vidyalayas at an estimated cost of Rs 136 crore across the State.

This initiative by the steel major is part of the Government of Odisha’s grand plan of setting up Adarsha Vidyalaya in each block in the State.  Tata Steel has already handed over 16 such Adarsh Vidyalayas including schools at Danagadi, Kamakhyanagar, Nayagarh, Korei, Dasarathpur, Dharmashala, Jajpur, Hatadih, Bonaigarh, Jagannath Prasad, Bijepada and Nimina block.