Intel employees build rain water harvesting tanks in village

Bangalore, Jun 8 (UNI) In a rare sight Intel India President Frank Jones, Director-Corproate Affairs Rahul Bedi and other top executives and techies were seen busy in building solid waste management units, tanks for rain water harvesting and planting hundreds of tree sapplings in a backward village near the city today.

In an effort to enhance societal welfare through conservation of natural resources, Intel India and Children's Love Castle Trust (CLT) India joined hands to take up corporate social responsibility (CSR) work in backward and water-scarce Kurubarakunte village, about 50 km from here.

Keeping in spirits of Environment day, about 200 Intel Employees including their boss were involved in the work as part of CSR programme.

Soiled with cow dung and mud, Mr Jones walked straight to speak to the visiting news persons from working on a compost tank, where he helped his staff in filling the six-foot tank with cow dung, leaves and earth. He said the community driven programme, for which Intel was annually spending nearly one billion dollars had been taken up in nearly 60 countries.

"Nearly 75 per cent of our employees participate in such programmes and we take up employee survey from such programmes. This is a voluntary work and this is how we try to give back something to the country where we work. For every 20 hours spent by an employee the Intel management contributes 50 dollars for such community work," he added.

He said Intel had taken community works in Nagapattinam in Tamil Nadu, in Mumbai and Delhi as well where the company had presence.

Mr Jones said Intel had trained three million teachers in the backward areas in honing their skills and this included seven lakh teachers in India. "We want to train ten lakh teachers in the next five or ten years. We are also offering scholarship to students from rural India and have sent eight children on international student programmes abroad.

Rahul Bedi said Intel India was focussed in enhancing the lives of people by helping themprovide a fair opportunity to education, improved healthcare, as well as, undertaking various community welfare initiatives.

UNI