Balaji Cement Works steps in for Budawada village during 2024 floods
Budawada, a small agrarian village in Andhra Pradesh’s NTR district, was severely impacted by flash floods on August 31, 2024, where the Paleru River, a tributary of the Krishna River received an unprecedented level of water from the upper catchment area, flooding Budawada. Over 250 houses were submerged, critical infrastructure was damaged, and the village was left without electricity for five days. While there was no loss of lives, the floods ruined paddy crops worth Rs 90 lakhs and severely damaged local electric and road infrastructure.
Situated on higher ground, Balaji Cement Works, UltraTech’s integrated cement manufacturing unit in the region, quickly mobilised a rapid response team, facilitating evacuations and sheltering 300 residents of the area in the unit’s Aditya Birla Public School. For over six days, UltraTech’s team supplied over 15000 meals to the people of Budawada. The RO plants at the unit operated round the clock and tankers from the village were used to supply over 100KL of drinking water to the affected residents. After the waters subsided, UltraTech organised medical camps in collaboration with the Department of Health, Medical & Family Welfare, and supported the local Panchayat in their chlorination efforts to prevent the spread of waterborne diseases...