Alstom in Collaboration with its NGO Partner United Way Bengaluru Supports Integrated Rural Development at Selakarachal Gram Panchayat, Sultanpet Block in Coimbatore

Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India:   Alstom as a part of its CSR initiative, in collaboration with NGO partner United Way Bengaluru (UWBe), kickstarted ‘Rural Rising‘– an integrated rural development program at Selakarachal Gram Panchayat, Sultanpet Block in Coimbatore to improve the overall condition of the gram panchayat in the areas of environment, sanitation and education.

Ms. Chhaya Balasubramanian, Site HR Head, Alstom; Mr. S Selvakumar, Site MD, Alstom; Mr. Rajesh Krishnan, ED, United Way Bengaluru & Mr. Kandasamy V P, MLA, Sulur flagging off the Tractor

At the inaugural and Bhoomi Puja today, Alstom handed over a tractor to the Gram Panchayat to strengthen the Solid Waste Management (SWM) system. The gram panchayat has been trying to implement a proper solid waste management system. This tractor support will help to put in place a systematic door to door collection process, and also timely transport of the garbage ensuring better hygiene and sanitation in the area. The inaugural event was graced by Mr. Kandasamy V.P. MLA, Sulur Constituency; Ms. Navamani, Block Development Officer; Maragathavadivu Karupsamy – President, Gram Panchayat and representatives from Alstom and United Way Bengaluru.

Mr. S Selvakumar, Site MD, Alstom & Mr. Rajesh Krishnan, ED, United Way Bengaluru handing over the tractor to Mr. Kandasamy, MLA, Ms. Maragathavadivu Karupsamy, President Selakkarichal Gram Panchayat

In addition to the Solid Waste Management initiative, community toilet construction and usage awareness activities have commenced helping the gram panchayat in its goal to improve the sanitation condition of the village and encourage toilet usage among the community members.

“This project is a stellar example of Alstom’s commitment to promoting and funding initiatives that improve the living conditions and economic possibilities of communities. We are looking forward to providing holistic development to the people of Selakkarichal Gram Panchayat through this initiative and have engaged a team of active and passionate employee volunteers who are keen to implement these interventions over the next three years,” said S Selvakumar, Site MD, Alstom.

“Our commitment to helping rural societies develop their education, health and environment situation is echoing with our CSR partner Alstom and the Selakarachal Gram Panchayat.  This initiative is a perfect private-public-partnership model of collaboration. This project has been implemented with a vision to empower the community members and ensure long-term sustainability,” said Rajesh Krishnan, Executive Director, United Way Bengaluru.

Alstom and United Way Bengaluru are also strengthening the Anganwadi Centres by building a new one and upgrading two more Anganwadi Centres with new services, facilities and infrastructure to make the centres happier, safer and conducive for children. United Way Bengaluru’s early childhood education program, called the Born Learning Campaign, will be running in these Centres to ensure the enhancement of the developmental domains of children and capacity building of Anganwadi workers and parents. Apart from this, the project will also undertake livelihood initiatives, especially for women and youth. Overall, the Rural Rising initiative in Selakkarichal Gram Panchayat will benefit a population of approximately 6000 over the next three years.

About United Way Bengaluru (UWBe)  : UWBe, part of United Way Worldwide,  is an NGO focused on social issues that seek immediate and long term attention. The chapter catalyses unified efforts from corporates, civic bodies and citizen associations to bring about visible change. The organisation works in four key areas – Environment, Education, Healthcare and Livelihood. Currently, UWBe is implementing four flagship campaigns that serve important purposes: ‘Wake the Lake’ works to protect Bengaluru’s lakes, ‘One Billion Drops’ aims at conserving rainwater through percolation pits, ‘Born Learning’ helps provide nutrition and education to very young children and ‘Rural Rising’ aims to develop and empower the rural communities. Besides, COVID relief work is another key area where the organisation is helping healthcare institutions, healthcare professionals and other organisations working towards COVID relief.

For more information, please visithttp://www.uwbengaluru.org.

About Alstom: Leading societies to a low carbon future, Alstom develops and markets mobility solutions that provide the sustainable foundations for the future of transportation. Alstom’s product portfolio ranges from high-speed trains, metros, monorail and trams to integrated systems, customised services, infrastructure, signalling and digital mobility solutions. Alstom is committed to supporting carbon neutrality in transport by building innovative, sustainable mobility solutions with a lower carbon footprint while actively contributing to the public debates on sustainable development policies.

For more information, please visithttp://www.alstom.com.