Making Odisha Great Again

AS THE YEAR dawned, Karan Adani, the man­aging director of Adani Ports and SEZ Ltd and the scion of the ₹2,71,664-crore ($32.5 billion) Adani Group, declared that his company would invest ₹2.3 lakh crore ($28 billion) in Odisha until 2030. Such a massive investment would encompass wide-ranging sectors from cement, power, aluminium, ports, industrial parks, and city gas expansion. It would make the company one of the largest private sector investors in the state. Suppose the 3,000 acres of Dhamra port handles 51 million metric tonnes (MMT) of cargo a year. In that case, the Ballada bauxite mine in Koraput district is expected to churn out 4 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) of aluminium at peak ca­pacity. Sources reveal it typically requires ₹55,000 crore to set up an aluminium plant of such a size. While the conglom­erate would set up a renewable energy unit in Cuttack, cement plants would dot Malkangiri and Cuttack, along with the Dhamra industrial park. In addition, last year, the Adani Group acquired the Gopal­pur port for ₹3,080 crore, and will make its two ports of Dhamra and Gopalpur count with a handling capacity of about 70MMT a year, with investments in them in excess of ₹13,000 crore so far. Given the quantum of investments, Karan Adani is putting his money where his mouth is with such a whopping amount being invested in the state in the next five years.

The commitment to Odisha is now being matched by the company’s philan­thropic drive in the coastal pilgrim town of Puri, 67km away from the state capital of Bhubaneswar. Every year, from June 27 to July 7, the Rath Yatra draws in lakhs of pilgrims. This year was no different as 25 lakh devotees kept their faith to pay obeisance to Lord Jagannath, his brother Balabhadra and his sister Subhadra as the trio is seated on a chariot (rath) drawn by countless pilgrims and taken to their aunt at the Gundicha temple and back to the 12th-century Jagannath temple, a major Hindu shrine. On June 27, when the Rath Yatra took off, Gautam Adani, patriarch and chairman of the Adani Group, was in Puri to offer his prayers to the Lord and donate ‘prasad seva’ among the devotees. “I have got everything from Lord Jagannathji. There was a time when I had nothing and by His grace, today I have everything. Today, I have prayed for our country’s bright future and Odisha’s development. I have prayed that our country keeps growing and the fruits of development are enjoyed by all its people,” he said.

Gautam Adani’s vision for Odisha is real. A stone’s throw from the Gundicha temple, on a 6-acre plot, a makeshift structure hous­es a kitchen and godown stirring up 3 tonnes of rice, 1.5 tonnes of sabji, 2 tonnes of dal, and 1.5 tonnes of halwa in desi ghee to feed almost three lakh people daily. Such a massive food distribution to the throng of pilgrims during the Rath Yatra offers a window to the science of efficient logistics management. And Adani Founda­tion, in collaboration with the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), has achieved it in real time.

The mega venture is run by some of the top minds from ISK­CON. Sample this. Sant Gopinath Das, part of core management, is an MBA and university topper from Lucknow, and a former devops engineer with Tata Consultancy Services. He was also a rank holder in the International Math Olympiad in 2009, apart from bagging a clutch of other top accolades. Again, Vir Chaitanya Das was an aeronautical engineer and worked with some of the top airlines and logistics companies for a decade before turning to spirituality. The 31-year-old Bali Murari Das is no different. A 2017 batch IIT-Kharagpur alumnus, Das was a cofounder of a robotics startups and worked on microprocessors and motherboards prior to heeding the Lord’s call. And when such minds are applied to ‘kitchenomics’, they surely cook up a storm.

A walkaround in the cooking zone reveals 10 giant steel pans on circular urns that often get crane-lifted during the cooking process. “We manage 21 stalls across Puri [during Rath Yatra] that distribute food and beverages [juices] free of cost to not just pilgrims but anyone who queues up,” says Bali Murari Das, who adds that the mega kitchen is operational 24 hours and has more than 5,000 volunteers city-wide who served a staggering 40 lakh people in the course of the Rath Yatra this year. Besides, Adani-branded mobile juice vans dot the city. While the average cost per meal for the ISKCON-Adani venture tots up to ₹30 per plate, the overall cost of ₹12 crore may sound like a drop in the ocean, but is good enough to cater to the ocean of devo­tees thronging the festival in the sultry weather. “The food keeps us going and the juices keep us hydrated,” says a security official who queued up for lunch.

The Adani-ISKCON tie-up is not new. Dur­ing the Maha Kumbh Mela at the beginning of this year, the duo served with a mission as well, and has imbibed the learnings it has im­plemented in the Rath Yatra. “During Kumbh Mela [in Prayagraj], there was a dire need for prasadam [charitable meal] in and around railway stations and other gatherings. We have ensured that Puri doesn’t face such problems,” says Das.

The tie-up is a win-win for ISKCON as it bolsters scalability. Last year, for instance, on a standalone basis, the organisation could only distribute about 30,000 meals a day—a far cry from the 3 lakh per day figure this year.

Adani Foundation also doles out caps, tees, raincoats, umbrellas, and shorts to 450-odd lifeguards stationed by the central verge of the Puri beach, awash with strong currents, which often drown pilgrims. Lunch and breakfast, too, are on the house. The lifeguards belong to the Nolia community of fisherfolk from Andhra Pradesh and have for generations served as rescuers along Puri beach. Prakash, 28, for instance, saved two people from drowning on the morning of July 6 from a depth of 20 feet. Suresh, 24, has saved more than 100 people in his lifetime and works as a fisherman in the eve­ning, taking catamarans 8km into the sea for a haul. Hari Rao, 35, is secretary of the Puri Beach Lifeguard Federation, and maintains that the community has been rescuing those who stray into the ocean since the 1920s. “This Rath Yatra, we have rescued over 150 people from drowning at an average of 20-25 rescues a day,” says Rao.

WHILE THE 10-DAY Rath Yatra is an annual show of devotion where the Adani brand is now on firm foot­ing, the foundation has been carefully curating its corporate social responsibility (CSR) efforts across its business spectrum in the state. At Dhamra Port, for instance, the Adani Foundation undertakes a diverse range of initiatives spanning education, health, sustainable livelihoods, community develop­ment, and climate action.

Under the education umbrella, the Utthan programme stands out. It focuses on enhancing foundational literacy and numeracy by mainstreaming slow learners, while the DPCL Scholarship sup­ports 30 meritorious students each year with financial assistance of ₹24,000 for their 10+2 studies—beneficiaries are now pursuing higher education at institutions like AIIMS Kalyani, IIT-Madras, SCB Medical College, and Fakir Mohan Medical College and Hos­pital. The innovative ‘IT on Wheels’ initiative, too, is galvanising digital literacy among students of Classes 6 to 8. Additionally, the foundation supports the improvement of infrastructure in govern­ment schools to create better learning environments.

In the health domain, the Adani Wellness Centre provides specialised health services and physiotherapy for residents of vil­lages surrounding the Dhamra port, with camps conducted twice a month by expert doctors from Cuttack. To ensure healthcare reach­es remote areas, three Mobile Health Care Units (MHCU) cover 36 gram panchayats within the port periphery and along the railway corridor. Regular general health camps are held in underserved regions lacking primary healthcare facilities. The foundation has also supported persons with disabilities engaged in livelihoods by providing battery-operated wheelchairs.

As far as sustainable livelihoods go, the Annapurna scheme promotes good agronomic practices and conducts training on non-pesticide management for farmers, leading to the forma­tion of a Farmer Producer Organisation (FPO) in the region. And for women’s empowerment, the foundation partners with Self- Help Groups (SHGs) to foster income-generating activities. Under the Kamdhenu project, efforts are already underway to increase milk production through hybrid cattle breeding and artificial insemination.

Besides, community development initiatives include road con­struction in villages lacking connectivity, pond deepening to boost water storage and groundwater recharge, and the installation of tube wells to provide safe drinking water. The foundation is also promoting sport among local youth, nurturing emerging talent at the district and state levels.

Also, under its climate action efforts, the Adani Foundation car­ries out annual plantation drives to enhance greenery and sustain­ability in peripheral areas, while promoting clean energy through solar-light installations.

After Gautam Adani visited Puri on June 27, this is what he wrote on X: “By the infinite grace of Mahaprabhu Shri Jagannathji, we have been blessed with the opportunity to serve during the sacred Rath Yatra of Puri Dham. This divine journey is that sacred moment when the Lord himself comes to his devotees to bless them with his darshan. It is not just a journey, but a sublime celebration of devo­tion, service and surrender.” With such massive investments and Adani hoardings all over the state, Jagannath surely seems to steer the group’s juggernaut.