Tata Steel kicks off mega event ‘Arunima’ in Odisha

Odisha Sun Times Bureau
Jajpur, Mar 9:

Tata Steel kicked off a three-day long mega event ‘Arunima’ in Jajpur district of Odisha on the occasion of International Women’s Day yesterday.

During the three-day event, apart from celebrating International Women’s Day, Jyoti Fellowships will be awarded to the meritorious SC/ST students today and an agricultural meet – Vaarta – will be held on March 10. Women, students and farmers of the nearby areas of Kalinganagar, Sukinda and Bamnipal will participate in respective programmes on those days.

As part of the mega event, Tata Steel yesterday observed International Women’s Day at Sukinda Bhavan in Kalinganagar under the theme ‘Be bold for change’.

Speaking on the occasion Sukinda MLA Pritiranjan Gharai, who graced the programme as the chief guest, said, “This day reminds us that we all are equal and we have equal responsibility towards the society. Equal rights and opportunities are there for women in society, politics, education and livelihood.

The contribution of women is indispensible for the development of the society, he stated.

He also appreciated Tata Steel for its developmental interventions in skill development, women empowerment and income generation sectors.

Orissa High Court advocate Kshirod Chandra Rout, who was present during the event, spoke about legal rights of women.

More than 800 women SHG members, youths and adolescents participated in the observance of the day which marks the social, economic, cultural and political achievement of women across the world.

Skits were performed by adolescents of RISHTA (Regional Initiatives for Safe Sexual Health by Today’s Adolescents) Project and members of Tata Steel Swati Group. The skits depicted challenges being faced by women and how to deal with these. Members of women SHGs being promoted by CInI (Collectives for Integrated Livelihood Initiatives) in Bamnipal area shared the development works being done at Karanjiapal village in Harichandanpur block. A total of five best SHGs and five women were awarded for walking the extra mile in different fields on the occasion.