Raichur: Infosys today announced the delivery of 279 houses built by the company as a part of its North Karnataka Flood Relief Program initiated in 2009 under Aasare scheme of the Government of Karnataka. This is in addition to the 1,744 houses delivered in Gulbarga district last month.
The houses were handed over at Chintamana Doddi, Raichur district and Tinthini in Yadgir district. With today’s delivery, the company has built and delivered 1,249 houses in Gulbarga, 229 in Raichur, 425 in Dharwad, 70 in Belgaum and 50 in Yadgir district so far. Additional 239 houses in Yadgir are still under construction at various stages of completion and expected to be delivered in June this year.
Mr. Srinath Batni, Trustee of Infosys Foundation along with Swami Raghaveshananda Maharaj of Ramakrishna Mission Ashrama Belgaum, which partnered in the construction delivered these 229 houses built in two villages to B. Sriramulu, Minister of Health, Karnataka.
Speaking at the event, Mr. Batni said, “Infosys is very happy to be of help in mitigating the hardship of the beneficiaries due to the unprecedented floods. We are hopeful that this gesture will help the beneficiaries to resume their normal life faster as well benefit from the model layout and houses that have been provided.”
The other event was held at Tinthini in Yadgir district where 50 houses built at Goudur village were delivered. Mr Vasudevrao M Deshpande, Program Manager for the North Karnataka Flood Relief program along with Sri Bheemreddy Bhaireddy from Sri Kottala Basaveshwara Bharateeya Shikshana Samithi Sedam which partnered in the construction delivered these houses to Yadgir district in charge Minister Mr. Mamtaz Ali Khan.
The government has allocated layouts with enough community space and playgrounds. The government has provided for 30×50 plots, roads, water connection and has also planted trees throughout the village. The 250 sqft house contains a separate toilet with a septic tank/soak pit. Apart from building houses, Infosys has also provided additional accessories for the beneficiaries like solar lantern, books and notebooks for children to study. The State Bank of India has agreed to open a no frill account for each beneficiary.
The project which costed Infosys Rs. 30 Crores is funded by Infosys Technologies Ltd and Infosys Foundation. The construction was done with the help of over 25 contractors and three NGOs namely Ramakrishna Ashrama (at Belgaum and Raichur), Sri Kottala Basaveshwara Bharateeya Shikshana Samithi Sedam (at Gulbarga and Yadgir) and Sri Kshetra Dharmasthala Rural Development Program (at Dharwad) and managed by the program office headed by U Ramadas Kamath Sr. Vice President under executive review from T V Mohandas Pai – Director of Infosys Technologies Ltd.
The Aasare initiative was established to engage businesses in a public-private partnership to build new houses for those affected by the floods of October 2009. Infosys committed to support the State Government by contributing Rs. 30 Crore for relief and rehabilitation efforts by building over 2,250 houses.
[IPRL]
