Malaria has been a major public issue in Orissa mostly in the tribal districts of the state. As many as 365592 numbers of people were found affected from malaria out of which about 86.60 percent were found Plasmodium Falciparum (PF) positive in the year 2007.

Tata Steel through Tata Steel Rural Development Society (TSRDS) has been undertaking regular initiatives to create awareness, detect and treat malaria in the past but this particular effort will be a benchmark, the company said in a statement on Saturday.

To create awareness, the company organises malaria awareness camps, street plays, health talks, and wall painting in different villages.

Further to avoid infection it regularly does fogging and spray of DDT, distributes mosquito nets, slide testing and also distributes medicines to the affected.

At many villages it has dug soak pits near tube well sites and also filled the pit with soil.

According to the company, its community outreach program touches the lives of more than 25,000 needy families in 500 villages in Orissa bringing in health care, education, livelihoods and rural infrastructure.

With every passing year, efforts are made to provide better health care to 4-lakh people annually both preventive and curative through mobile medical units and community based programmes to the rural interiors of the state.

Tata Steel's five hospitals at different parts of Orissa such as Joda, Sukinda, Belpahar, Belaipada and Bamnipal are continuously striving to provide health services to the needy people.

It has also built infrastructure for three Community Health Centres at Bari, Kuhika and Koira apart from two ICUs at Joda and Bolangir. The company has also renovated the district headquarter hospital at Keonjhar.