TNI Bureau: The Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT) and its sister institution Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences (KISS) have stepped in to ease the burden on the government and system during the Corona Pandemic, which has threatened to ruin the economy as well as the future of millions.
KIIT and KISS have been doing their bit to reach out to the worst-affected people ever since the COVID-19 pandemic broke out. Their teams have assisted COVID-19 patients, stranded migrant workers, people living in Containment zones and even starving animals.
Under the leadership of its Founder Dr. Achyuta Samanta, KIIT and KISS have taken the following measures to fight the Corona Pandemic so far:
? Kalinga Institute of Medical Sciences (KIMS), the medical wing of KIIT, organized a lecture on ‘Corona Virus – A Global Threat’ on 1st February, 2020 in which standard infection control strategies to prevent the spread of Coronavirus was discussed. Subsequently, Kalinga Institute of Nursing Sciences (KINS) and KIIT School of Public Health also joined the awareness effort.
? 30,000 students of KIIT (across the country) and 30,000 underprivileged students of KISS (Workd’s largest residential institution for Tribal Students) were sent back to their homes safely before the nation-wide lockdown was announced.
? KISS launched ‘Project Uday’, a massive awareness campaign on social distancing, proper use of mask, hand washing and respiratory hygiene in six aspirational districts of Odisha: Rayagada, Malkangiri, Koraput, Kandhamal, Balangir, and Gajapati. More than 500 students of KISS were involved in this project that covered 220 villages.
? Kalinga Institute of Medical Sciences (KIMS) set up India’s first standalone COVID-19 hospital, a 500-bedded ultramodern facility including 50 critical care beds, with the support of the Govt. of Odisha.
? KIIT has also set up three 200-bedded COVID-19 hospitals, one each in Kandhamal, Balangir and Mayurbhanj districts, with the support of the respective district administration.
? Besides Covid Hospital, KIIT & KISS are providing groceries and cash for miscellaneous expenses to over 40 orphanages, old age homes and leprosy centres in Kandhamal districts.
? Another constituent of KIIT, KIIT-Technology Business Incubator (KIIT-TBI) under KIIT School of Biotechnology, has been recognised as a Centre for Augmenting War with COVID-19 Health Crisis (CAWACH) by the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Govt. of India.
? KIIT Group distributed family survival packets – comprising of essential food items like rice, pulses, cooking oil, etc. – to the disadvantaged people living in various slums in Bhubaneswar. The survival packets were given thrice a week for the first month during lockdown to 40,000 people in the slum areas of Bhubaneswar.
? KIIT also took initiative to deliver cooked food to police personnel on COVID-19 duty. Lunch was provided every day to more than 2000 police personnel across Bhubaneswar as well as adjoining cities of Puri and Cuttack.
? KIIT Group worked closely with the Odisha Government to provide all kind of support to migrant workers stranded in Bhubaneswar after the announcement of lockdown.
? KISS worked closely with the American Embassy in the evacuation of personnel who were stuck in Odisha and other adjoining areas. It also distributed feminine hygiene products to women and girls in all the districts of Odisha.
? KIIT and KISS provided one month supply to the Tibetan population in Chandragiri and Padmasambhava Monastery in Jiranga, a Tibetan settlement area in Gajapati District. They adopted two old age homes in Chandragiri. KIMS is also supporting a hospital in Jiranga and has provided PPE to the health workers.
? KIIT and KISS provided groceries and other essentials to the needy in red light areas of Bhubaneswar.
? KIIT, KISS, Sakha and Azim Premji Philanthropic Initiatives came together to distribute ration and essential items for the transgender community in Bhubaneswar, Rayagada and a few other districts of Odisha.
? KIIT and KISS even set up a team to source and distribute fruits, vegetables, biscuits and other food materials to animals like monkeys, cattle and dogs, in and around the campus. It has adopted 140 peacocks in Bhubaneswar.
“COVID-19 pandemic is the most serious global health crisis of our times and also the toughest humanitarian challenge. It has extracted a huge human toll, besides causing big setbacks to the economy. Our efforts are a drop in the ocean and aim to bring smiles on the faces of as many people as we can touch. But, I am sure, together, we will overcome this crisis also”, said KIIT & KISS Founder Dr. Achyuta Samanta.
