New Delhi: Showing commitment and solidarity with the home state in the fight against Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the state-run National Aluminium Company Limited (NALCO), a Navratna PSU, under Ministry of Mines, has come forward to fund an exclusive 200-bedded COVID-19 hospital at Nabarangpur, Odisha. In this regards, a tripartite agreement has been signed between NALCO, District Administration and Christian Hospital, at Nabarangpur on Saturday. The 200 bedded hospital will have medical facilities exclusively for the treatment of COVID-19 patients. Under this agreement, a COVID-19 exclusive isolation facility care centre has been made at B.Ed college, Hirli, Nabarangpur.

With the exclusive COVID-19 hospital being operational in the tribal-dominated district of Nabarangpur, hopes are high that it will also be helpful for other adjoining districts of southern Odisha, viz Rayagada, Koraput, Malkangiri and Kalahandi.

Lauding the efforts being made by NALCO to tackle the pandemic, Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas and Steel Dharmendra Pradhan expressed his gratitude towards the Prime Minister, Union Minister for Coal & Mines Pralhad Joshi & NALCO and thanked them. He said that the upcoming 200-bedded COVID-19 hospital funded by NALCO at Nabarangpur will further strengthen Odisha's capabilities in defeating the pandemic.

NALCO's Chairman & Managing Director (CMD) Sridhar Patra has expressed his gratitude for this initiative and said that we have stood with the people of Odisha in the past during natural calamities. This time, the crisis is more challenging and of unprecedented scale, and we at NALCO reiterate our pledge to extend our wholehearted support in whatever ways we can, he added.

Earlier, NALCO employees had contributed their two days' salaries amounting to Rs 5.2 crore which has been remitted to PM CARES Fund and Odisha CM's Relief Fund, i.e Rs, 2.6 crore each.