ONGC  inked a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) with Indian Mountaineering Federation  (IMF) today at ONGC Urja Bhawan for cleaning the Himalayas as part of the  Swachh Bharat Pakhwada. Aptly titled ‘Cleanathon Himalaya’, this innovative CSR  programme of ONGC aims to clean three source tributaries of river Ganga viz.  Bhagirathi, Alaknanda and Pindari.

The campaign was flagged off in the presence of Mr DD  Misra, Director (HR), ONGC. Mr SSC Parthiban, ED- Chief CSR- ONGC, Col H S  Chauhan, President IMF, Dr Alka Mittal, GGM Head CSR ONGC and other senior  officials from ONGC and IMF were present during the MoA signing ceremony.

ONGC inks Memorandum of Agreement with IMF for cleaning three source tributaries of the Ganges in Uttarakhand during Swachh Bharat Pakhwada. The campaign is part of a unique initiative of ONGC to take Swachh Bharat Abhiyan to the Himalayas. (From Left) Dr (Mrs) Alka Mittal, GGM Head CSR -ONGC, D D Misra, Director (HR), ONGC, Col H S Chauhan, President IMF and SSC Parthiban, ED-Chief CSR during the MOA signing ceremony

The  cleaning of source tributaries of the Ganges has been undertaken by ONGC to  take the Government’s flagship cleanliness programme to the Himalayas – A first  by any corporate.

Launching the current edition of the programme running  into its fourth phase, Shri D D Misra, Director (HR) said “Today, we have  launched 4th Phase, under which we aim to clean the source and  catchment areas of 3 important tributaries of Ganga in Uttarakhand i.e.  Bhagirathi, Alaknanda and Pindari”.

Shri  Misra said that the programme is a part of the ‘Swacchta Pakhwada’ drive of the  Government of India beginning from 16th to 31st July,  2017 and ONGC remains committed to play an active role in the Swacch Bharat  Mission of the Govt. of India.

ONGC is planning to make this effort a perpetual “Total  Clean Himalayas” campaign with a view to ensure the cleanliness and  revitalization of the most unique symbol of our eco-system - the Himalayas.

ONGC is  partnering with Indian Mountaineering Foundation (IMF), as part of a unique CSR  initiative, to remove the hazardous garbage/waste generated by tourists at  different tourist spots of Himalayas. In the three Phases completed so far,  ONGC has covered important peaks and glaciers of Himalayas in Uttarakhand,  Himachal Pradesh, J&K and Arunachal Pradesh.

The total cost of this project will be Rs 35.4 Lakhs with  each expedition consisting of 8-10 member teams. The duration of each cleaning  expedition will be 23 days which will start from July 2017 and will be completed by December 2017.

In his  introductory remarks, Mr SSC Parthiban, ED- Chief said that the efforts made by  CSR group of ONGC and ably supported by the top management has led to a  collaborative effort between ONGC & IMF as part of Swachhta Pakhwada drive  of the MoPNG beginning from 16th to 31st July, 2017.

With innovation being the key CSR driver, this ONGC  project titled “Cleanathon Himalaya” will leverage on the competencies of both  ONGC and IMF in initiating a cleanliness drive across the upper reaches of the  mighty Himalayas. 

Note to  the Editors:

Project  Locations

The cleaning expeditions will be carried out in the following three source  tributaries of Ganga.

• Bhagirathi  River: Gangotri-Chirbasa-Bhojbasa-Gaumukh-Tapovan Base Camp  (22 km.)
• Alaknanda  River: Mana-Laxmi  Van-Chakrateertha-Neelkanth Base Camp​ (25 km.)​
• Pindari  River: Kharkiya-Khati-Dwali-Pindari-Base Camp​ (21 km.)

Methodology

A trained team of mountaineers with expedition guides and expedition porters will  be directly engaged in cleaning the selected locations by physically binning  the solid waste. The collected garbage will be segregated into bio-degradable  and non-biodegradable and will be brought down to the nearest municipal  corporation/the disposal point.

Collected  garbage would be disposed through local recyclers or waste disposal mechanism  of the local municipalities. At locations where waste disposal mechanism does  not exist, non-biodegradable garbage would be brought down to nearest location  where facilities exist.

Regular cleaning arrangements of dustbins will be tied up  with the local concerned authorities. The expedition team will also create  awareness about personal hygiene, sanitation and the benefits of cleanliness  among the inhabitants of the villages.

Project  expertise of Indian Mountaineering Federation (IMF) will be utilised with the  Project Team Leader to be selected by IMF from the pool of Mountaineers  available with the IMF.

Volunteers  will be sought from ONGC will also participate in the cleaning expeditions.  However, other members for cleaning expedition will be selected from the  villages/ area around the project location having mountaineering/adventure  background.

ONGC  has undertaken cleaning expedition under three phases earlier.

As part of Phase I, hazardous garbage and wastes  generated by tourists were removed. The phase I also focused on creating  awareness among the mountaineers and locals about the importance of  eco-friendly measures to avoid stress on the environment. This cleaning  expedition was carried out from August 2015 to September 2015 and covered Peak  Stok Kangri in Ladakh Region, Shigri Glacier Region in Spiti Valley, Tapovan in  Gangotri Region and Pindari Area in Uttarakhand at a total cost of Rs.18.24  lakhs.

Under  Phase II, cleaning expeditions were carried out in the bank of  Gaumukh, Tapovan, Nandanvan and Gangotri as part of drive to clean the sources  of river Ganges from hazardous non bio-degradable waste and other garbage. The  Phase II was carried out from May 2016 and end on October 2016 at a total cost  of Rs 14.38 lakhs.

As part of the Phase III campaign, ONGC  in collaboration with the Indian Mountaineering Foundation (IMF) undertook  cleaning expeditions in five locations of Himalaya range that included Chanshal  Valley (Shimla District) and Triund Dharamshala in Himachal Pradesh, Yamunotri  in Uttarkhand, Anini / Mechuka of Himalaya range of Arunachal Pradesh and  Sheshnag / Chandanwari, Pehalgam, Lidder River and Amarnath Yatra Route of  Himalaya range of Jammu & Kashmir. The expedition team also created  awareness about personal hygiene, sanitation and the benefits of cleanliness  among the inhabitants of the villages. The five cleaning expedition commenced  from March 2017 and was completed in July 2017 with a financial implication of  Rs 19.55 lakhs.

Issued by:

Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Ltd 
Corporate Communications, New Delhi,
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mail: ongcdelhicc@ongc.co.in