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Press Release -- July 20th, 2011
Source: Cisco Systems
Tags: Construction, Equipment

Cisco Hands Over More Than 700 Houses To The Government Of Karnataka To Mark Successful Completion Of Phase III Of Project Samudaya

Chikkamanchal, Khataknur and N.Malkapur villages in Raichur district handed over in entirety & commenced construction of Primary Healthcare Centre

BANGALORE, India, July 20, 2011 – Cisco today announced that it has handed over more than 700 houses to the Government of Karnataka to mark completion of Phase III of “Project Samudaya” –  – an initiative to collaborate with the government in their Asare program towards helping rehabilitate the lives of flood-affected communities in Karnataka. The handing over ceremony was held in Chikkamanchal in Raichur district and was presided by B Sriramulu, Minister for Health, Government of Karnataka and district-in-charge (Raichur) and Aravind Sitaraman, President, Inclusive Growth, Cisco Systems.

Cisco has given a total of 1800 constructed houses to date including the 700 plus houses handed over at the event today, which is completion of 50 % of   the 3570 houses to be constructed by Cisco along with two schools and one primary healthcare centre in the five flood–affected villages of Raichur.  Cisco has also begun construction of the Primary Healthcare Centre (PHC) at Gillesugur which was visited by the Health Minister along with Cisco officials during the event.

All houses have been constructed conforming to government guidelines and specifications, working with local administration officials, and in consultation with village residents. As completion of phase III of Project Samudaya, Cisco has handed over in entirety 3 villages of Khataknur, N.Malkapur and Chikkamanchal in Raichur district demonstrating the company’s commitment to rehabilitate these communities.

Using the power of the network, Cisco is also providing remote education through its Cisco Education Enabled Development (CEED) Platform and enabling access to specialized healthcare through the use of Cisco HealthPresence technology and medical practitioners of RxDx Multispecialty Health Centre (A Unit of Teleradiology Solution). These services have accelerated access to affordable, remote and high-quality education and healthcare.  Today, through CEED, 4 schools receive supplementary education in English, Math, Science and Social Sciences from Children’s Lovecastles Trust. In addition, Cisco provisioned solar power systems to provide uninterrupted power supply to 110 computers in 11 schools.

Project Samudaya is an initiative by Cisco to rehabilitate communities in flood-affected areas of Karnataka. Project Samudaya, is a public-private partnership program to create a sustainable society using the power of network to provide urban amenities such as quality healthcare and education to rural areas. It aims to construct 3570 houses, two schools, and one primary health care center in the five flood-hit villages and is on course to complete this within the stipulated two-year time frame.

During October 2009, Cisco had announced a US $10 million undertaking comprising cash, services, solutions and equipment over two years to support rehabilitation and reconstruction efforts in the Raichur district of Karnataka. Through utilising public-private partnerships towards helping build sustainable communities, Cisco had taken on reconstruction of five villages in the flood-affected Raichur district: N Malkapur, Khataknur, Talmari, Bichali and Chikkamanchal.

Cisco collaborates with government agencies and NGO leaders to develop sustainable education and health care models, enabled by collaborative networked information technology and communications. Cisco believes in the power of the network to establish connections between communities to facilitate more effective delivery of services to citizens, and provide a platform for economic regeneration.

Cisco had made the US $10 Mn undertaking to flood relief in India in October 2009 as part of its commitment to corporate social responsibility . Cisco very actively responds to humanitarian disasters and in the past has participated in relief activities that include supporting the earthquake victims in Sichuan, China in 2008, sufferers of Hurricane Katrina in the United States in 2005 and the Indian Ocean Tsunami in 2004.

Executive quotes

“I am happy with our collaboration with Cisco towards rehabilitation efforts in the flood-hit regions of Karnataka. I would like to acknowledge this significant milestone that we have reached with the handover of more than 700 houses in Raichur, which marks the successful completion of third phase of the government’s association with the company in Asare program. Our collaborative effort with Cisco proves that public- private partnerships can build a safe, sustainable community. Cisco’s efforts to ensure that people in rural and remote areas get access to medical treatment and specialised consultation and the Primary Healthcare Centre that the company is constructing at Gillesugur, Raichur reiterates its commitment to help the government in taking the Asare program forward,” said B Sriramulu, Minister for Health, Government of Karnataka and district-in-charge (Raichur).

As the Executive Sponsor of Project Samudaya, Aravind Sitaraman said

“We have demonstrated how a public-private partnership can rebuild people’s lives and make a positive difference. Cisco would like to thank the companies that collaborated with Cisco for their contribution towards the successful completion of Phase III of Project Samudaya. This project is a great example of how employee volunteerism, technology, and public-private partnerships can come together to help rehabilitate and rebuild a sustainable community. Using the power of the network, we can easily scale and replicate this model across India and the globe”

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Cisco (NASDAQ:CSCO, news, filings) is the worldwide leader in networking that transforms how people connect, communicate and collaborate. Information about Cisco can be found at http://www.cisco.com. For ongoing news, please go to http://newsroom.cisco.com.

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