RAILWAYS SBG
Vijay Singh Chaudhary,
Manager Administration & Security (Railways SBG)
In his role managing administration and security, it pays for Vijay Choudhary to have the right contacts, create and maintain good relations with people who matter. When the COVID-19 crisis broke, he is happy to share that his good relations with the DM’s office, the local administration and police came in extremely handy. “Since I was liaising well with these authorities, it was easier for us to obtain the emergency passes for the movement of people and vehicles that was critical as our project is a linear one stretching 915 km,” he shares. Presently he is at the WDFC EMP‑4 project, which is his first at L&T after having had earlier stints with other companies like Adani, Jubilant Life Sciences, Welspun, Jindal, etc. “Obtaining these (movement) passes was critical because it was the only way we could keep connected with our workmen stranded at different locations along the stretch and also the only way we could reach them essential provisions, medicines and safety tools like soaps and sanitizers.”
Even during the lockdown, Vijay hit the road to keep in touch with his workmen. “I visited the site locations to distribute thermal scanners, masks and the rest. I urged the security at our various locations to remain alert and continuously motivated my admin team to keep up the good work.” When not on the road, Vijay along with his team of Lokmanee Dixit & Satyanarayan Moharana were at office processing bills for payment to workmen, security guards and other admin vendors. “As per the management guidelines, since staff were encouraged to work from home, we vacated one floor at the TFL office saving approximately INR 2 lakhs per month in the process,” decidedly happy about the saving. “All our seniors have always guided and supported us,” he shares. “With prior approval, we distributed 5 thermal scanners, 40 hand sanitisers and 300 nose masks to the DM’s office at Jaipur under CSR,” and adds, “every admin person has contributed his best efforts in the lockdown period at every site.”
Vijay is from Nathpura village in Rajasthan’s Jhunjhunu district. His life partner is Prashansa, a homemaker and they are blessed with two children, son, Himanshu and daughter, Ritisha. “Yes, they have been worried and scared, but they have supported me in my fight against the virus visiting sites and attending office like a Corona Warrior.”
“From the very beginning, since joining L&T, I have always been proud to be a part of this great organization,” he signs off in style.
Subash Chandra Sethy,
Manager EHS (Railway SBG)
Although Subash Sethy is on his first assignment with L&T as Head-SHE (Manager Safety) at the L&T‑INABENSA Consortium EDFC, CP- 204 project site at Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, he comes with rich experience of 18 years in the industry and hence his approach to fighting COVID-19 is akin to managing a project. His responses are a series of action points. “We first formed an Emergency Response Team, the emergency contact details with an Emergency Commander was communicated to all, an Emergency Preparedness and Response plan was put in place for all the safety precautionary measures, approvals were sought and taken from the DMO for resumption of work as a part of our Business Continuity Plan and SOPs were prepared for the Return to Work procedure duly approved by the client and DMO.” Subash’s responses reflect a sense of urgency that must be acting as a propellent for all his colleagues at site.
As his project stretches over 417 km, it was critical to obtain vehicle passes from the DMO’s office for the free movement of vehicles. “This was one of the first boxes we ticked in our ‘To Do’ list,” he says. “Then there were daily review meetings, daily follow ups, and course corrections or new initiatives as the case may be.” An important step the team took towards safeguarding the health of their workmen was to tie up with several hospitals along the entire project stretch for site access and emergency control. On the digital front, Subash shares, “we created a provision to generate digital self-declaration forms that were obtained from all employees and prepared a COVID-19 project dashboard to share important awareness about the virus.”
About his team, Subash shares that the CP-204 team had taken a pledge to safeguard their employees and workmen and have been taking all precautions to check the spread. He makes a special mention of Project Director, Anud Koul, “who has led us from the beginning, and it is thanks to his guidance that we have been able to perform so efficiently. He actively reviews the situation and is remarkably caring too. We are quite sure that we will emerge from this difficult situation very soon and everything will be normal as well,” he says confidently.
Hailing for Rourkela, Odisha, Subash’s partner at home is Sasmita, a homemaker and they are blessed with two children, Rajendra Prasad and Dibya Priyadarshini. “They have always supported and motivated me,” he says with genuine feeling. Subash loves playing cricket and football during his free time.
“Of course, I am very happy and proud to be a part of L&T,” he concludes cheerfully.
Shashi Bhushan Kumar,
Manager — Administration (Railways SBG)
Shashi Bhushan has completed a decade with L&T and is certain that the company will flex its digital muscle to help bring things back to normal post the COVID-19 crisis. “L&T uses new technologies, artificial intelligence and other digital platforms to support the local authorities in many cities which I am sure will help to combat the spread of COVID 19 and get the economy back on track,” he declares confidently. Beginning his association with L&T in 2010 at the Six-laning of Krishnagiri-Walajahpet Road project (KWRP) section of NH-46 at Vellore in Tamil Nadu, Shashi after four years, moved to the Four Laning of the Sambalpur Rourkela Road Project (SR way) section of SH-10 in the state of Odisha where he was for a couple of years. “Presently, I am working at the WDFC CTP 3R Project Iqbalgarh-Vadodara Section in Gujarat since 2016,” he informs, “handling approximately 680 workmen.”
Understandably, the outbreak of COVID-19 has increased Shashi’s responsibilities that include managing labour colonies, handling admin and IR issues, among several others. “Our first task was to stop the workmen from wanting to leave the site and return to their native places as the fear of the spread of the virus grew. Gujarat was one of the hot zones which was adding to their feeling of unease,” he points out. An idle mind is the devil’s workshop is an adage and Shashi and his team realized the danger of letting the workmen at the camps remain idle for long. “To address this, we obtained a Work Permit from the District Collector based on the MHA order dated 15.04.2020 along with Vehicle/Machinery Passes to start construction work and mining activity followed by a thorough sanitisation of all working locations, offices, vehicles and machinery.”
Having found a way to keep the workmen engaged, Shashi and team ensured that all the other requirements were met of arranging groceries, masks, sanitizers, conducting awareness programmes, setting up quarantine facilities, monitoring regular body temperature checks and even taking the help of police officials and the District administration to conduct awareness sessions at the labour colonies. “I am thankful for the immediate guidance and support from my seniors and the co-operation and round-the-clock support from my team members,” says Shashi with genuine feeling. “that helped us to control the situation. We even received verbal appreciation from the District Collector for our hospitality,” he says with pride.
Shashi is from the steel city of Bokaro and loves to listen to music and spend time with his parents and family that comprise his wife, Amrita Kumari, a homemaker, son, Abhinav and daughter, Dhriti. “They were initially unhappy about my work since I stay with my aged parents and children but later they supported me,” he shares with a nod.
Satyansu Sekhar Sahoo,
Assistant Manager — Accounts & Finance (Railways SBG)
“We collected INR 87 Crores from the client after much follow up during this lockdown,” exults Assistant Manager, Satyansu Sahoo, flagging off a great triumph for the Accounts & Finance team at the EDFC CP-204 project at Allahabad. Apart from their normal duties, the lockdown saw several employees like Satyansu going beyond their call of normal duty to take on the extra responsibility of fighting the virus to keep people safe at site. “I had three responsibilities:” he shares holding up three fingers. “One was the procurement of disinfection items, sanitizers & cleaning items that were in severe shortage; two, was to provide rations, drinking water, LPG and basic medicines at the guesthouses amid several logistic challenges and three, perhaps, the most important for the company, the collection of funds from the Client as none of their offices were functioning.”
Before joining L&T, Satyansu has worked at four other projects: the SH86, Sarai to Muzafarpur Road Project, the NH30, Patna to Baktiayrpur Road Project, the NH31, Baktiyarpur to Mokama Road Project, and the SH71, Giriyak to Islampur Road Project, all of them for BSCPL Infra Ltd. “The best part about L&T is that it takes care of its employees and workmen,” he says with conviction. “Everyone has been receiving their salaries on time even in these tough situations and various training programs have also been arranged.”
Getting back to his tasks presently at hand, he says, “We ensured and supervised routine cleaning and washing at all 22 guest houses, two stores and office, ensured that the local vendors received their payments in time and the workmen their wages, arranged for an emergency vehicle and a doctor for the staff and workmen and followed up for fund allocations.” His efforts have won praise from his seniors. “They were very supportive of my efforts and I received continuous appreciation from them. Any support required was quickly made available through the concerned department,” he says acknowledging their support.
Hailing from Kendrapada in Odisha, Satyansu’s wife, Sasmita, is a homemaker and they are blessed with one son, Abhinab. Truly a family man, he loves get togethers with family and relatives when he is not watching cricket or cooking, his favourite pastimes. “My family has been concerned about my exposure to the virus, but my work was of paramount importance to look after the welfare and safety of our staff and workmen. In addition, it ensured that project progress was not hampered,” he smiles
Jayakumar Seeralan,
Assistant Manager — Safety (Railways SBG)
S Jayakumar presently working at the WDFC CTP 3 R project, Package 3A is happy and satisfied. “I was thrilled to win the ‘Young Achiever Award’ in 2019 for our project,” he shares joyfully, “and even more thrilled when our project received the ‘Award of Excellence’ from our client, DFCC.” These awards have been huge morale boosts for him as he shares, “L&T has given me several opportunities during this fight against COVID-19 that I will never forget. I am proud to be a part of the company in this fight and I am proud to be an L&T‑ite doing our best to provide safety to not only our workmen but our employees and our families as well.”
The main challenge for him and his team was to identify infected persons to safeguard their other workmen from getting infected. “Most of our workmen are residing at their camps in the nearby villages where most of the villagers have come from different states and therefore suspected carriers,” warns Jayakumar. “Our focus was to conduct meetings, awareness programs, and demonstrate the effects of COVID-19 every day to our workmen, to keep them self-motivated and ensure social distancing. We ensured that there was proper and timely communication to all the workmen and the villagers so that all of them would take the necessary precautions to remain safe.”
At site, he formed a COVID Response Team and their main thrust was on proper communication. “This effective communication has helped us,” he says with a smile, “for there has not been a single suspected case across our entire stretch. This fact has been appreciated by the local authorities too,” Jayakumar shares with the satisfaction of a job well done. Of course, the whole team has contributed to their success and Jayakumar specially mentions, “Our SHE Director Ajaya Kumar Das and I. Malaimegu from Admin have acted as our arms to get the necessary approvals and suggestions to complete all the procedures to create a safe and healthy environment for our workmen following the ‘Solve at the First Step’ theme.”
From Erode in Tamil Nadu, Jayakumar’s wife is J Valarmathi, a homemaker, who is very concerned about his going to work during these times of the pandemic. They are blessed with two children, J Rhidhanya Devi and J Guna Nandhini. “I love reading books and listening to music when I get the time for them,” he smiles.
Chandrika Prasad Sharma,
Assistant Manager — EHS (Railways SBG)
While the role of EHS is always vital at a construction site, the importance of EHS personnel at site has assumed greater importance due to the COVID-19 crisis. For Assistant Manager – EHS, Chandrika Prasad Sharma, at the CTP-3R, Package – D project, which is also his first, the responsibilities on his shoulders to keep the workmen and staff safe is huge. “One of the big challenges we have at site is that our camp site is unfenced,” Chandrika points out, “and hence it is very difficult to keep our workmen within the camp. They are used to wandering about and to make them understand that going out of the camp is unsafe not only for them but for all the others at site is something we have been working on since the start of the lockdown.”
Keeping the workmen engaged and occupied when there is no work at site is a tough task, but Chandrika and team have evolved a method to address that issue. “To keep our workmen fit and healthy, we are motivating them to do physical fitness exercises in the morning. This will not only keep them healthy and start the day on the right note, but it will also help strengthen their immunity levels which as you know is very important to fight the virus,” shares Chandrika, looking serious.
While everyone at site have come together to work as a team, Chandrika is most touched by the caring nature of his seniors. “My senior has been most caring constantly inquiring about my and my family’s health,” he shares with genuine feeling. “It has really motivated me to give 100% to my job and show the same care and feeling to my workmen by ensuring that they receive all the items, food and other material in time.”
Although at his first project with L&T, Chandrika is all praise for his Company. “L&T is such a company that understands the importance of the workforce,” he says with conviction. “Even during this pandemic situation, they understand the basic needs of the workmen and have acted immediately to provide all the required material to the workmen free of cost.”
Chandrika is from Lodipur village, Tekari, in the Gaya district of Bihar. His wife, Puja, is a homemaker and they are blessed with one son, Ojas Bhardwaj. “They help me a lot and always encourage me to do my service with care.” Chandrika is of a religious bent of mind and his hobbies, as he shares, are “to do Rajyog meditation, attend seminars and read spiritual books of Brahma Kumaris. My most memorable moment,” he adds, “was when I joined ‘Brahma Kumari’ and learnt Rajyog.”
Pramay Pratap Singh,
Senior Engineer (Civil) – Railways SBG
Even as he is fighting the pandemic, Pramay Singh, looking after the execution of Overhead Equipment (OHE) works at the CP-204 Package (EDFC Phase 2) Electrification of Mughal Sarai to New Bhaupur Section project, is reminded that his most memorable moment was being appointed by L&T. “It was almost like a dream come true,” he shares excitedly. “This is only my first project, but I have already discovered that there are many aspects about L&T that I can be proud of. If this is a specific question of mentioning one aspect, I would say that L&T cares for its employees like its family members!”
Being a project that stretches over 417 kilometres, the issue that Pramay and his team faced was unique. “When the lockdown was suddenly declared without any warning, workmen were stranded at different locations along the stretch and when they realized that they could not move, they started to panic. With all our execution work having stopped completely, we had to plan ways and means to keep our staff and workmen busy and engaged,” he shares. The first task for Pramay was to procure vehicle passes so that at least some of the staff could move up and down the stretch.
“We were able to procure permissions from the District Magistrate for our conveyance vehicles to enable our staff to move in case of an emergency.”
The team ensured that the stranded workmen were made aware of the situation to calm them down while all essential goods and PPEs were provided regularly at all locations. “We initiated ability development programs for the staff residing in the guest house to enhance their skills, motivated them to take part in activities like self-housekeeping to reduce the load on the cook and helpers and conducted a yoga regime for workmen and staff to improve immunity.”
Pramay is grateful to Project Director, Anud Koul, for his support and motivation. “He ensured that every workman was safe and conducted daily meetings about our welfare measures. Manoj Kumar Mohanty (PM-OHE) Sir also helped us in our effort,” he adds.
Kalvath Syed Mohamed,
Executive — WISA (Railways SBG)
“One of the biggest problems we have been facing is that there are a lot of negative thoughts and fears in the minds of both employees and workmen about COVID-19,” shares a serious Kalvath Syed Mohamed, who is at his first project with L&T at the Riyadh Metro Track Project, Lines 1 & 2. “The fact that there is no cure or vaccine and that getting infected could lead to death are playing on their minds and therefore our first task has been to mitigate these unfounded fears.” Due to the lockdown and the curfew imposed by the local government, travel was severely impacted that further led to feelings of uncertainty.”
Kalvath goes on to detail out some of the mitigation measures he and his team have taken at site to protect the health and safety of our workmen in the client labour camps. “The staff and workmen camps and accommodation were completely closed for outsiders, we started daily thermal screening and those with slightly higher temperatures were asked to have a check-up and isolated. We mandated all vehicle drivers to sanitize their car doors, handles, steering, knobs, etc., always wear masks, practice social distancing and in all vehicles only one driver and one passenger were allowed.” Apart from frequent sanitization of all premises, necessary arrangements were made to support the staff to work from home. “We personally connected with all the employees and their families to enquire about their wellbeing and ensure that they were taking adequate precautionary measures that all helped in boosting their morale,” he informs.
“My Project Director continued to motivate, guide and advise me to be courageous while being careful that helped me carry out my duties diligently,” shares Kalvath, thankful to his seniors. “The management were very supportive too allowing us to procure the necessary supplies like PPEs, disinfectants, sanitizers that were very useful during the complete lockdown and to obtain permits and other clearances from the client.”
“My family, like everyone else’s, was frightened of COVID-19 and advised me to stay out of harm’s away but duty was important,” says Kalvath who hails from Tirunelveli in Tamil Nadu. “My wife, Fathima Praveen, is a homemaker and we have two children, Aayisha and Ahmed,” he shares. “I like to exercise, browse the net and play carrom. During my college days I visited the Taj Mahal and Shimla with my friends and those are some of my life’s most memorable days,” he says, clearly reliving those heady days.
“L&T is taking care of all its staff and workmen to the extent possible and supporting the government beyond its responsibility and I am proud of being a part of this company,” he says emphatically.
Kishore Kumar Karthikeyan,
Senior Engineer — Mechanical (Railways SBG)
Young Kishore Karthikeyan joined L&T as a PGET in 2018 and was immediately posted to the WDFC Electrical and Mechanical Package 4 project where he has been for the last couple of years and now busy fighting the COVID-19 pandemic. While he works with his team to safeguard the health and safety of his colleagues and workmen at site, Kishore is also in awe of how his organization has reacted to this crisis. “The way L&T has tackled and handled this situation at my project worksites has been sound and really inspirational. Procuring passes from local SDMs, initiating daily body temperature screening, daily disinfecting and fumigating all premises, ensuring the steady supply of PPEs like masks, gloves, sanitizers, soaps and provisions have been truly remarkable. All these things really make me feel proud of being a part of this wonderful organisation.”
Like his co-Corona Warriors at other projects of the Railways SBG, one of Kishore’s major issues at the start of the lockdown was procuring passes for free movement of people along the length of the project and vehicles to supply food, groceries, medicines and PPEs. “We worked together and through our good relations with the local authorities, we were able to get the passes that solved a big issue for us,” he shares with relief.
“I initiated and fabricated a full body sanitization machine under Waste-to-Wealth and had it installed at our site office and worksites,” he shares with a huge sense of achievement. “After the lockdown, following our SOPs to resume operations, we regularly monitor and ensure the availability of medical fitness certificates of the workmen and body temperature is being daily screened and recorded for future references of the workmen, staff, operators and security guards,” he shares. Kishore is thankful to his seniors for their support and guidance. “My seniors and team members have really encouraged me for all my initiatives and keep motivating me to implement many more innovations at worksites.”
Though born in Kerala, Kishore has been brought up in Tamil Nadu. “My family understands my role and has been a huge pillar of support throughout. They are also very proud of my initiatives,” he says with a broad smile. Yet single, he spends his free time reading books, novels, doing physical workouts, photography, internet surfing and the like. “My first day at L&T was my most memorable moment till date,” he declares passionately.
Naresh Ananthula,
HSE — Supervisor (Railways SBG)
Of late the Riyadh Metro project has come under a cloud with a spike in the number of COVID-19 positive cases but that does not take away the efforts of people like Naresh Ananthula and team for putting up a spirited fight against the virus facing huge odds. “Even as the virus spread there was a lot of fear amongst the workmen,” shares Naresh about the developing situation at his site. “Some of the workmen were not ready to work as they were afraid about their families; many were frightened as soon as they had some minor ailments like fever and headache and day by day, I could feel that most of the workmen were getting home sick, wanted to get rid out of the place and return to their families,” he says, defining his problems.
“However, even before the cases started rising in the kingdom, we ensured that our workmen were all well informed about COVID-19 and its precautions by conducting awareness trainings everyday, practicing social distancing and specifying the importance of hand wash, sanitizing and each workman was provided with a PPE kit,” he explains. “At several locations, we conducted toolbox talks at frequent intervals and daily temperature checking has been going on without a break.” He is thankful to his Project Director for his extensive support during this entire period. “That helped us to work with mental stability and I must also mention our HR for standing together with us in this fight by providing all the necessary administrative support,” he adds with gratitude.
Before Riyadh Metro, Naresh’s association with L&T began with a three-year stint as HSE officer at the Hyderabad Metro project. “My dream was to get into L&T during my academic phase and after serving in a few companies at the early stages of my career, I joined L&T on 22nd April 2013 and I recall that as one of the most memorable days in my life!” he smiles. “I really felt proud when the company announced the contribution to the PM Cares Fund and in its decision to pay wages to the contract workers though they are not physically in action for these three months!”
Hailing from Hyderabad and yet single, Naresh likes to play cricket, listen to music, and indulge in outdoor games over the weekend. “My family insisted that I stay away from the workplace for some time to avoid the infection but they understood the importance of my role and have calmed themselves down but I know that they are upset and still worry about me,” he shares seriously.
