3500 Runners Participate in 3rd Edition of Tata Steel Meramandali Run-a-thon

Dhenkanal:Tata Steel Meramandali Run-a-thon, organized in collaboration with the Dhenkanal District Administration, saw a turnout of over 3500 enthusiastic runners from across the country. Dignitaries including Dhenkanal MLA Sudhir Samal, Hindol MLA Simarani Nayak, Collector and District Magistrate, Dhenkanal, Saroj Kumar Sethi, IAS, SP, Dhenkanal Gyan Ranjan Mohapatra, Chanakya Chaudhary, Vice President, Corporate Services, Tata Steel, Poonam Chaudhary, and Subodh Pandey, Vice President – Operations, Tata Steel Meramandali, and Namita Pandey flagged off the 10 km and 5 km runs.
This year’s theme, “Run for a Greener Planet,” saw participants compete in 10 KM and 7 KM categories for men and women. The runs started from the housing colony of the plant located at Kantabania in Dhenkanal, passing through the NH-55 service road and nearby village road of Shibapur, culminated at the origin.
Winners in both the men and women categories of the run were awarded cash prizes and trophies, with a total of 20 prizes worth Rs 4.2 lakhs presented. Rashmi Ranjan Nayak from Khurdha won the 10 km men’s category, while Samsad Ara Begum won the 10 km women’s category. In the 5 km categories, Praveen won in the men’s category, and Daita Hantal won in the women’s category.
The event was held to international standards with the use of technology such as timing digital mats, RFID chips, split timing mats, tracking cameras, and wifi networks. Tata Steel partnered with a Mumbai-based agency experienced in organizing similar runs to ensure the event’s success.
In addition to the winners, 10 sportspersons from Angul and Dhenkanal districts, nominated by the respective district administrations, were also felicitated, as well as 6 volleyball players who were groomed by Tata Steel and have participated in national level matches.
Several dignitaries including ADM Ramesh Chandra Sethi, Dhenkanal, President Prajasangha, Gangadhar Samal, Regional Officer of the State Pollution Control Board, Angul Dr Anup Kumar Mallick, Chief District Medical Officer Ashok Kumar Das, Dhenkanal, Sub-Collector Snigdharni Dhal, Dhenkanal, Pradipta Kumar Mohanty, District Sports Officer, Dhenkanal, Akshya Kumar Sita, District Sports Officer, Angul, COO of Rimjhim Ispat Limited Pradeep Sharma, and Group Head of HR at MGM Minerals Srinivas Bramha attended the event. Besides sarpanchas from nearby panchayats like Kususpanga, Sibapur, Nuagaon, Nuahata, Kamlanga, etc were also present.