NEW DELHI: With the Centre declaring
Fani as an “extremely severe” natural calamity, India Inc is extending all help possible to regions impacted by one of the strongest tropical cyclones in 20 years. Companies are offering help from gensets to drill out water, infrastructure to restore electrical poles, essential supplies such as dry food ration, free mobile connectivity and potable water. The two most damaged cities are
Bhubaneswar and
Puri with
electricity and
water being the commodities in short supply.
Coal India, through its subsidiary-Mahanadi Coalfields in Sambalpur (
Odisha), is sending gensets to drill out underground water while companies like Britannia and Coca-Cola are braced to supply potable water. Mahanadi Coalfields is also ready to support the installation of about 10,000 electric poles that were uprooted in the
cyclone.
“The immediate requirements in these areas are water and electricity with a shortage of generators. We are also ready to support the installation of electrical poles,” said Dikken Mehra, head of PR, Mahanadi Coalfields.
Google Pay has activated a donation drive for the CM fund to aid the rescue and relief operation. Google’s crisis team has been active since the cyclone hit the state, and through the last few days, sending out SOS alerts, shared a company spokesperson.
Airtel has set up war rooms with dedicated teams in the state to monitor the impact of operations and coordinate quick recovery. These war rooms are also coordinating with government authorities such as National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA). SMS has been made free in three affected states for five days by Airtel, said a company spokesperson.
One of the largest public sector enterprises in the country, IndianOil has a strong presence in the state that is home to its biggest refinery, Paradip Refinery. The corporation has ensured uninterrupted fuel supply from its locations in Odisha and West Bengal on the east coast.
IndianOil’s administrative buildings in Odisha and Aviation Fuelling Station (AFS) at Bhubaneswar have faced damages.