Mr. K.J PATEL ED,IFFCO

Top 20 Most Inspirational Personalities Of Odisha 2020: IFFCO

The COVID-19 pandemic not just threw life out of gear but also crippled the economy of our country. Business firms, PSUs and major companies also faced the wrath of coronavirus. But there were glaring examples of few Indian companies who fought tooth and nail against coronavirus and firmly withstood the tide of uncertainties that came its way. IFFCO Paradeep, one of India’s biggest cooperative societies, was one such example. Very recently, IFFCO Paradeep unit garnered rare accolades for its efficient preparedness and management in tackling the Covid-19 pandemic. Under the stewardship of Mr. K.J.Patel (Unit Head, Paradeep Unit), IFFCO had earlier reached envious heights in the country and this time around, it won glowing praise from Subroto Bagchi, Odisha government’s Chief Spokesperson for its efforts to combat COVID-19. IFFCO initiated several measures for its employees and associates following the coronavirus outbreak thanks to his leadership and timely guidance.  
Mr. Patel strongly believes that IFFCO is itself a big joint family built by the association of numbers of like-minded common farmers, where humanity overrides the technocratic appliances although it is run by some professional Managers and Engineers at the forefront.

“From the day, the State Govt. called for the need of shutdown a few months ago, we first reached out to the farmers at their doorsteps to deliver the much-needed support in terms of providing some lakhs of masks for containing community transmissions,” he proudly said. He added that it was a great experience and learning to work with the very responsible State Govt. where all the staff, from bureaucrats to supportive staff, were enthusiastic to coordinate the works during such unusual circumstances.

Echoing “charity begins from home” and making a sense of it, voluntarily each employee of IFFCO donated one day’s salary for feeding a few hundreds of its own daily workers as well some poor sections of people living in its periphery while adhering to all social distancing norms, Mr Patel reveals.

Most interestingly, he opined that IFFCO’s own “Jyoti Ladies Club”, run by all wives of the staffs came forward with full gusto to fight against COVID-19 by feeding hundreds of poor citizens for 15 days at a stretch, an effort which was hugely praised from all quarters.

Living up to its image of being at the service of people in times of crisis, IFFCO’s Paradeep Unit had also built a Covid Care Centre within its premises. The Centre has scores of beds for the patients and is meticulously managed by a team of nursing staff led by Doctors. He also shared that the Union Minister of Chemicals and Fertilizers, Mr D.V. Sadananda Gowda had complimented IFFCO for its generous contribution of Rs 25 crore to PM CARES.

Quoting the Honourable Minister’s words, “I am overwhelmed, and would like to extend my sincere gratitude to the Managing Director, management, employees and shareholders of IFFCO for this act of selflessness. This will be extremely helpful in strengthening our collective resolve to defeat the pandemic.”

Mr. Patel also credited the success to Dr. Udai Shankar Awasthi, Managing Director & CEO, IFFCO who has helped the company sail through all odds like a “father-like figure”.  

At the outset, Mr. Patel also informed with all aplomb that in the last 2019-20 FY, IFFCO has surpassed all previous records of productions that went highest ever 19.3 lakh Tonne of Fertiliser from this world-class Fertiliser plant. He is also confident that the Paradeep unit will stage a strong comeback and effectively contribute to the state’s economy again.  

The efforts of IFFCO Paradeep unit will surely motivate other corporate houses of the state to come forward and fight the global menace called COVID-19! 

“From the day, the State Govt. called for the need of shutdown a few months ago, we first reached out to the farmers at their doorsteps to deliver the much-needed support in terms of providing some lakhs of masks for containing community transmissions,” he proudly said. He added that it was a great experience and learning to work with the very responsible State Govt. where all the staff, from bureaucrats to supportive staff, were enthusiastic to coordinate the works during such unusual circumstances.

Echoing “charity begins from home” and making a sense of it, voluntarily each employee of IFFCO donated one day’s salary for feeding a few hundreds of its own daily workers as well some poor sections of people living in its periphery while adhering to all social distancing norms, Mr Patel reveals.

Most interestingly, he opined that IFFCO’s own “Jyoti Ladies Club”, run by all wives of the staffs came forward with full gusto to fight against COVID-19 by feeding hundreds of poor citizens for 15 days at a stretch, an effort which was hugely praised from all quarters.

Living up to its image of being at the service of people in times of crisis, IFFCO’s Paradeep Unit had also built a Covid Care Centre within its premises. The Centre has scores of beds for the patients and is meticulously managed by a team of nursing staff led by Doctors. He also shared that the Union Minister of Chemicals and Fertilizers, Mr D.V. Sadananda Gowda had complimented IFFCO for its generous contribution of Rs 25 crore to PM CARES.

Quoting the Honourable Minister’s words, “I am overwhelmed, and would like to extend my sincere gratitude to the Managing Director, management, employees and shareholders of IFFCO for this act of selflessness. This will be extremely helpful in strengthening our collective resolve to defeat the pandemic.”

Mr. Patel also credited the success to Dr. Udai Shankar Awasthi, Managing Director & CEO, IFFCO who has helped the company sail through all odds like a “father-like figure”.  

At the outset, Mr. Patel also informed with all aplomb that in the last 2019-20 FY, IFFCO has surpassed all previous records of productions that went highest ever 19.3 lakh Tonne of Fertiliser from this world-class Fertiliser plant. He is also confident that the Paradeep unit will stage a strong comeback and effectively contribute to the state’s economy again.  

The efforts of IFFCO Paradeep unit will surely motivate other corporate houses of the state to come forward and fight the global menace called COVID-19! 

Written By: Subhojit Ponda

Image: Google