INDIACSR Correspondent
BALODA BAZAR (Raipur): It is the Ambuja Cement Foundation (ACF), the CSR arm of Ambuja Cement Limited (ACL) that has been acclaimed among the local communities in and around the plant area in Baloda Bazaar districts, a new district in the state of Chhattisgarh, since the year 2000. Ambuja Cement has production facility near Baloda Bazaar.
As an integral part of their ongoing projects under various vocational trainings, agro-based livelihoods, comprehensive health care and women’s empowerment activities, the ACF has now stretched its helping hands to children and youth of the communities by developing a ‘model playground’ in the premises of the local Mopar High School. This playground is set to be open for people by April 2013, whereby it would be inaugurated.
Munnu Lal Nishad, a local resident of Mopar village appreciatively speaks out that, “We are much grateful to ACF for making available this essential facility which would be greatly beneficial, especially when there are not so many avenues for extra-curricular activities existing in our area for the youth and for our children”.
This model playground would assist in changing the face of the local community and many aspiring youths and children, who would now certainly be motivated to take up sports as their profession. In a distinctive initiative, this playground is being constructed on a three acre (12400 sqm) of land and will support sports facilities therewith like cricket, volley-ball, football, kho-kho, basket ball etc.
A high platform in the form of a stage is also in the channel of construction, wherein that would cater the needs of organizing events, gatherings and such other sports competitions. Other than the Mopar High School, this model playground will also be available for the students coming from four other nearby schools of Mopar and youths from villages namely Maldi, Devrani, Khairtal, Karmandi, Dandhani and Arjuni.
The development of such exclusive playground has very much delighted the village head of Mopar, Smt. Lalita Sahu, who proudly states that “the playground and facilities will enable the sport enthusiasts among our youth and children to participate at the state level tournaments, which would be a matter of great pride for us”.
The whole atmosphere around the Mopar High School is filled with great expectations as the youths here are impatiently waiting to run and jump on this model playground. They are also keen to have sporting facilities at their disclosure that was so far only a distant dream for them.
Edited by: Vijay Kumar Ratre, Associate Editor, INDIACSR, Mumbai.
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