Covid-19: NHPC, IREDA vaccinate over 300 power sector employees

State-run firms NHPC and IREDA organised a two-day vaccination drive, during which as many as 317 employees of various public sector units in the power sector were inoculated.

The vaccination drive was jointly organised by the PSUs on May 7-8.

The free COVID vaccination camp -- jointly organised by Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency Ltd (IREDA) and NHPC Ltd -- was organised for the 18-44 age group employees at IREDA's Corporate Office, New Delhi, a power ministry statement said.

This was done in line with the direction of Power Minister R K Singh.

A total of 317 employees from IREDA, NHPC, Ministry of Power, Ministry of New & Renewable Energy, MHA, PFC, REC, BHEL, BBMB, MMTC, NEEPCO, PTC, NSPCL and CEA (central electricity authority) got vaccinated in this camp with the objective and fulfilling to rapidly immunise all eligible employees amid the second wave of infections, it said.

All the safety protocols were followed during the vaccination camp.

On this occasion, Pradip Kumar Das, CMD, IREDA, underlined that "this is an effort to ensure protection and confidence so as to enable a healthier workforce. This will help safe return to normal life resulting in faster economic recovery".

Das thanked NHPC and Apollo Hospital for their collaboration and support.

IREDA has taken several initiatives to contain the first and second waves of COVID-19.

It has constituted an exemplary 'COVID Care Response Team', that is continuously taking care of COVID-19 positive employees and their family members starting from June 2020.

The team has so far helped 77 employees, 27 families of employees, and 17 other individuals by regularly counselling them and also providing them all necessary support including regular delivery of food and medicines, hospitalisation, plasma donation, oxygen concentrators, etc.

The vaccination drive was carried out for the safety of power sector personnel so that the critical need of uninterrupted power supply on 24x7 basis is ensured, it added.