Whether it is providing safe drinking water or maintaining the upkeep of the crematorium and burial ground, Precision Foundation's activities address the often neglected needs of the society.
Jnana Prabodhini, Solapur selected 10 women who are Bidi rollers from slum area and want to quit the Bidi rolling. Jnana Prabodhini appointed a trainer to train these women in tailoring. Training was done in two batches of 5 each for two months. The first batch started on 1st April 2024 and continued up to 30th May 2024. The second batch was conducted from 1st June 2024 to 31st July 2024. Women learnt to sew cloth bags, dresses for kids, various types of dresses for young ladies like blouses, petticoats, kurtas, tops etc. All material was provided to them as a part of the project. They were also provided sewing machines and initial raw material to start their businesses. Most of these women have quit bidi rolling and are now working from their home and have started earning money by getting tailoring orders from open market.
Bidi rolling is hazardous to the health of the women rollers as they get exposed to tobacco and inhale and ingest it passively. This project of providing training and alternative livelihood thus has an added benefit of improving their health.
The project has been financially supported by Precision Camshafts Limited under the CSR.
The creamatorium at Kegaon, a small village on the outskirts of Solapur, was in a dilapidated condition, surrounded by overgrown bushes, broken gates and garbage thrown by nearby villagers. The inhabitants of Kegaon were suffering due to inadequate facilities. PCL through its CSR fund developed this Kegaon crematorium by levelling the grounds, repairing the burning shed, erecting a shed for about three hundred people to take shelter while the final rights are carried out and also beautifying the area by planting trees and providing water supply.
Ajit Foundation's Snehgram is a residential school project at Korphale in Barshi taluka. Mahesh & Vinaya Nimbalkar started this NGO and are working hard to bring underprivileged, orphaned children into the mainstream of education. The construction of two large halls that would provide as classrooms as well as accommodation and wash rooms is being carried out through PCL CSR fund. This facility will accommodate around 80 children.
The Solapur Central Jail was facing difficulties due to the inadequate facilities for the total inmate capacity. PCL provided RO plant, roti making machine, large cooking utensils, sewing machine, sanitary napkin vending and disposal machine etc. through its CSR funds at the request of the Jail administration.
"Anything can wait, but the needs of the child; because his tomorrow depends upon his today". A child is the future of the society as he/she grows into the basic element of the society i.e. citizen and builds foundation of the society by creating a family.
Eklavya Nyasa believes in encouraging the dropouts to continue their education and provide them with alternate career options. Provide education at least up to SSCE and equip them with skills for employment opportunities. Empowering these children to lead healthy life of their choice and equipping them to acquire skills to earn their livelihood. The activity of the Nyasa got itself rooted in Pune in the year 1999 while in 2002 it was registered as a trust. Primarily the Nyasa started working with the children of commercial sex workers. The child always feels that Home is the best institution. Nyasa decided to rehabilitate the child in his home itself. Currently they take care of 100 children in Pune.
Eklavya Nyasa has recently started a residential facility called ‘Bal Bhavan’ at Vetal Bhamburde, Tal. Kudal, Dist. Sindhudurg. This facility offers shelter to 100 boys and girls and required some basic amenities like kitchen utensils, washing machines and other electrical appliances etc. which have been provided by Precision Camshafts Limited through its CSR.
Precision has been supporting the local administration by providing various facilities. Two police stations namely, Sadar Bazar Police Station and Akkalkot Road MIDC Police Station in Solapur, were provided with two computers and a printer each in order to speed up their routine work. Inspector Ashwini Bhosale of Sadar Bazar Police Station and Inspector Shivshankar Bondar of MIDC Police Station accepted these computers from Precision Camshafts Limited.
Grameen Shramik Pratishthan at Budhoda in Latur district runs 'Swadhar', a rehabilitation project for the blind and disabled. These specially abled people are trained in naturopathy and massage therapy to make them self-reliant. A part of their ambitious project 'Manav Vedana Mukti Kendra’ (Pain Relief Centre), the therapy rooms, mud bath & water treatment facilities for men and women were funded by Precision through its CSR in 2017. The 'Precision Auditorium' is the next phase of this project. Inauguration of this facility took place on the occasion of International Yoga Day on June 21, 2021 and the function was presided by the Chairperson of Precision Foundation, Dr. Suhasini Shah in the presence of Dr. Narendra Kathare, founder of Grameen Shramik Pratishthan, Mr. Harishchandra Sude, Mr. Prashant Sude and Mrs. Prerna Sude. The hall will be used for conducting various skill development workshops, treating patients as well as organizing health camps and seminars.
India has been hit very badly by the second wave of COVID 19. The healthcare system collapsed under the pressure of huge number of patients requiring hospitalisation with Oxygen support and medication. Precision Camshafts Limited tried reaching out to rural as well as urban COVID centres and helped them in various ways :
PCL donated 2 Philips Trilogy Evo 02 BiPAP Ventilators to Shri Markandey Solapur Sahakari Rugnalaya. These machines would be used for treatment of the poor patients under ‘Mahatma Phule Jan ArogyaSeva’, a scheme of the Govt of Maharashtra wherein patients below poverty line get treatment absolutely free of charge. PCL also donated 2 Philips Trilogy Evo 02 BiPAP Ventilators to S P Institute of Neurosciences, Solapur where the hospital has provided two free beds for the treatment of poor and these two ventilators would be used exclusively for these free beds.
The second wave of COVID 19 saw a large number of fatalities. The crematoriums saw unprecedented times with bodies waiting to be cremated and insufficient wood for pyres. The situation was heart wrenching. The Modi Smashan bhoomi at Solapur which has two electric furnaces had only one furnace working and the other was under breakdown.PCL took the responsibility of repairing the second furnace. The task was completed in a short span of less than a month considering difficulties in getting spare parts and equipment from Pune due to lockdowns and travel restrictions. The team undertook upkeep of the crematorium with the help of Solapur Municipal Corporation who supported the cleaning work by providing manpower and earth movers. About 7 truckloads of garbage were removed. The building was then painted and trees planted making it more bearable for the grieving relatives. Personnel appointed by PCL will ensure that cleanliness is maintained at the Crematorium on a regular basis.
The rural area of Solapur district was highly affected by the second wave of COVID 19 with a large number of patients requiring Oxygen. A total of 7 Oxygen concentrators – 4 of 5 Litres and 5 of 10 Litres capacity - were provided to the Primary Healthcare Centres (PHC) and Gramin Hospitals in Solapur district as follows : Bhandarkavathe – 2 (5 litres), ModnimbPHC – 1 (5 litres) & 1 (10 litres), Madha - 1 (5 litres), TembhurniPHC – 1 (10 litres), PimpalnerPHC – 1 (10 litres).
PCL helped the Police Hospital at Pandharpur by contributing to the building of medical cabins. The hospital was built in a span of 38 days and is giving affordable service for treatment of COVID to the Police force and their kith and kin.
Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation Osmanabad is constructing an Oxygen plant at Osmanabad, a neighbouring district. PCL has contributed Rs. 5 lacs towards part cost of the equipment.
The Solapur State Transport Bus Terminus authorities created ramps for the benefit of invalid passengers. PCL provided 5 wheelchairs to the ST Depot at the request of the authorities. The facility will make the travel for the invalid people more comfortable.
At the request of the Highway Police, PCL has provided them with 10 stretchers and First aid kits. These will be kept at various petrol pumps on the Solapur Pune National Highway No. 65 and will be available in case of accidents for relief of the injured people.
Central Railway organized 4 special trains for the Migrant workers from Solapur district to travel back to their hometowns in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Jharkhand. Food packets consisting of 2 meals each were provided to 1600 such migrant labors who traveled from Solapur to North India on Wednesday 20 May 2020. The food packets prepared by Udyog Vardhini, Solapur and water bottles from Spenca were packed carefully by PCL staff taking utmost care of hygiene and social distancing. The entire initiative was successful because of the supervision and efforts by Mr. Ketan Vora along with Madhav Deshpande, Deepak Rajput, Siddheshwar Chandshive, Nilesh Gavandi of PCL.
Precision recognizes the efforts of the frontline warriors like the Police Force and the Health Care workers and also donated Personal Protective Equipment to them.
Sadar Bazar police station was given 500 T shirts with ‘Corona Warriers’ printed on them. These were distributed to the police force and also to young volunteers in the containment areas. They were also given lathis, whistles and hand gloves. These T shirts were distributed at the hands of DCP Mr. BapuBangar and in the presence of ACP PritiTipare, PI BajarangSalunke, Vishnu Gaikwad, RachappaChankoti and Aditya Gadgil of PCL on May 1, 2020.
200 PPE kits were given to SRPF No. 10. These were distributed at the hands of SRPF Commandant R B Kende and in the presence of Subhash Sonawane, NandkumarTingare and PRO of PCL Madhav Deshpande. 20 PPE kits were donated to the Family Planning Association of India, Solapur branch for the use of their staff & volunteers who work in hospitals and Covidaffected areas. The kits were distributed at the hands of National Treasurer of FPAI Dr. Shrikant Yelegaonkar in the presence of Mr. Ramanlal Soni Minde, Dr. N B Teli, Sugatratna Gaikwad, Virendra PardeshiPRO of PCL Madhav Deshpande.
Precision also donated 500 food packets consisting of 5 Kg Wheat, 2 Kg Rice, and 1 Kg each of Tur/Moong Daal, Oil and Sugar. These were distributed to the needy through the Collector office. Another 150 such packets were distributed in village Chincholi where the manufacturing facility of PCL is located.
As the local, state and central Governments continue to provide huge relief to our 1.3 Billion citizens during the COVID 19 pandemic, Precision Camshafts Limited committed an amount of INR 1 Crore towards this heroic effort.
Out of the contribution of INR 1 Crore, INR 50 Lakh was directly transferred to the PM CARES Fund and INR 50 Lakh to the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund, Maharashtra. Mr. Yatin Shah, Chairman & Managing Director, Dr. Suhasini Shah, Chairperson, Precision Foundation, Mr. Ravindra Joshi, CFO & Whole time directors and Mr. Karan Shah, Whole time director of PCL visited the Collector Office in Solapur and handed over the cheques to the Collector Mr. Milind Shambharkar.
The Precision Foundation joined hands with Pune-based ‘SevaVardhini’ to hold a workshop that enables social organisations to make a difference. Aptly titled ‘Aarambh….new inspirations’, this workshop held on 22-23 February at the Sinhgad Engineering college at Kegaon, equipped 118 representatives from 70 diverse organisations from across Solapur district to make a difference. Dr. Suhasini Shah, Chairman of Precision Foundation inaugurated this workshop. The training sessions were designed to inspire social organisations to transform Solapur in a phased manner. The curriculum included the creation of a vision and mission with practical tips on financial management, project selection, project execution and an overview of laws with respect to the registration of a social project. Games were also thrown in as ice-breakers for participants. Further, the two-day residential workshop bonded participants over a common cause. This workshop is likely to inspire them to become effective social change-agents. The eminent teaching faculty included Manik Damle, Shriram Patwardhan, Advocate Nitin Habib, Dr. Prasad Deodhar. Precision’s PR officer Madhav Deshpande held an interview with Dr. Diwakar Kulkarni for the benefit of the audience. SevaVardhini’s CEO Pramod Kulkarni along with Somdatta Patwardhan, Shriram Patwardhan, Kuldeep Purandare, Girija Shirsikar, Neha Kshirsagar, Deepak Aphle, Harshan Patil were also actively involved in this workshop. Sinhgad Institute’s Sanjay Navale & Dr. Shankar Navale extended their co-operation for this workshop. Students from the Social Work department of Chandele College volunteered their support to this workshop under the guidance of Prof Balasaheb Bhaskar.
The V Excel Education Centre Solapur, works for the development of the differently abled children and tries to make them independent. The centre was started by parents of some of the differently abled children and provides physiotherapy, speech therapy, remedial teaching, occupational therapy etc. to these children. PCL through its CSR is supporting 15 such children from the lower socio economic strata of the society with their yearly fees so that the children are not deprived of the therapies.
PCL has supported ‘Voice of Voiceless Abhiyan’ an initiative for early detection of deafness in children followed by treatment using hearing aids and speech therapy, by Mrs. Jayaprada and Mr. Yogesh Bhange of Shetphal, Dist. Solapur.
Mr. & Mrs. Bhange have deviced a very innovative test for early detection of deafness – ‘Taat Wati Chachani’ wherein the Anganwadi teachers are trained to do this simple test at their respective Anganwadis for children in 0 to 6 years age group.
With the help of Solapur Zilla Parishad, Women & Child Welfare department, 4500 Anganwadi teachers were trained to conduct this test between 29th July to 3rd August. These teachers would test about 300,000 children over the next few months. Children with deafness will be provided with further tests and hearing aids and will also be given speech therapy. This is the biggest project of this kind in the state of Maharashtra.
