Sand-art at Puri beach depicts Vedanta Aluminium as Odisha’s partner in progress

Bhubaneswar: Eminent sand artists of Odisha have created a beautiful sculpture at the Puri beach showcasing Vedanta Aluminium Business, India’s largest producer of aluminium and its value-added products, as Odisha’s partner in progress. Led by Manas Kumar Sahoo, the artists have created an art vision in sand, depicting the Lord Jagannath in all his glory showering blessings on the Vendanta Aluminium family and its Chairman Anil Agrawal for their dedication to the progress of Odisha. The sculpture, which showcased the exceptional skills of these artisans and Odisha’s richness of art and culture, was widely appreciated.

Vedanta Aluminium’s manufacturing prowess has been pivotal in establishing Odisha as the Aluminium Capital of India, catering to critical industries such as aerospace and aviation, automobile, building and construction, energy and electrification, transportation, consumer goods and more, across the globe. With its world-class Alumina Refinery at Lanjigarh (Kalahandi) and Aluminium Smelter at Jharsuguda, the company has been a partner in the state’s socio-economic progress for nearly two decades.

Marvelling at the beauty of the sand sculpture, Rahul Sharma, CEO – Aluminium Business, Vedanta Limited, said, “We are humbled and honoured in equal measure by the sand artists’ beautiful work. Believing in Odisha’s potential to become the crown jewel in India’s manufacturing landscape, Vedanta took the landmark decision of setting up a world-class aluminium industry in the state. The past two decades stand testimony to our resolve to be a committed partner in Odisha’s journey to be a trillion-dollar economy in this decade.”

The patronage of sand artists has been undertaken by the company under the aegis of ‘Odisha First’, a forum of eminent personalities and stalwarts from diverse professional realms who are working together to promote Odisha in their respective domains. The forum was created to bring together practising professionals in social work, sports, art, architecture, classical dance, music, academia, industry and technology. It generates ideas and action plans by practising professionals of the forum which are then presented to the government, corporate bodies and autonomous institutions for their support for implementation.

Social activists Badrinarayan Mishra, Trinath Lenka (NGO SUJOG) and Sidhartha Roy (NGO Nirman) welcomed Vedanta Aluminium’s endeavours to support local artisans and expressed their happiness at the creation of Odisha First for positioning and promoting the state at national and international forums.

Vedanta Aluminium Business, a division of Vedanta Limited, is India’s largest manufacturing of aluminium, producing half of India’s aluminium i.e. 1.97 million tonnes in FY21. It is a leader in value-added aluminium products that find critical applications in core industries. With its world-class aluminium smelters, alumina refinery and power plants in India, the company fulfils its mission.