The Minister Dharmendra Pradhan arrived in Jantar Mantar braving the winter chill in Delhi. To left of the Minister: Director (HR) D D Misra, ONGC CMD D K Sarraf and Petroleum Secretary Saurabh Chandra Hon’ble Union Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas (Independent Charge) Mr. Dharmendra Pradhan stepped up the cleanliness drive at Jantar Mantar on Christmas Day on 25th December 2014. Jantar Mantar is being maintained by ONGC under the Clean India campaign. The Minister spend over an hour at the monument, cleaning the premises himself. ONGC CMD Mr. D K Sarraf accompanied the Minister in the cleanliness drive along with Petroleum Secretary Mr. Saurabh Chandra, MD OVL Mr. N K Verma, Director (Finance) Mr. A K Banerjee, Director (T&FS) Mr. Shashi Shanker, Director (Offshore) Mr. T K Sengupta, Director (Onshore) Mr. Ashok Varma, Director (HR) Mr. D D Misra and OSD Exploration Mr. Anand Sahu. Mr. Pradhan discussed with ONGC CMD and NDMC officials about some measures which can be adopted to step up cleanliness at the monument.

The Petroleum Minister cleans the Jantar Mantar premises, Petroleum Secretary and ONGC CMD accompanies him The Minister surveyed the main Dials at the Jantar Mantar to take an account of the cleanliness status there. CMD ONGC explained the measures being adopted currently and those being envisaged. The Minister said that while the technical maintenance of the premises is under the Jantar Mantar administration, ONGC needs to continue the good work for the surface cleanliness being done by it regularly.

The Minister digging out some broken glass splinters near the wall of the park The main focus during the Minister’s visit on the Christmas day was the park adjacent to the Jantar Mantar which is littered by public, especially after sunset. The Minister did an extensive Shramdaan to clean up the waste, especially the non-biodegradable waste like plastic spoons and bottles. There is a scheme being implemented to reuse the organic waste in the monument and its adjacent area. The Minister discusses some cleanliness measures with ONGC CMD and government officials

The Minister considered the idea of putting up a gate at the park adjacent to the Jantar Mantar and proper lighting, to restrict the littering of the premises after sunset. The supervision of the cleaning staff is vital for sustained cleanliness of any premise, th e Minister observed.