The ONGC signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) with Indian Mountaineering Federation (IMF) for cleaning the Himalayas as part of the Swachchh Bharat fortnight. Titled ‘Cleanathon Himalaya’, this corporate social responsibility (CSR) programme of ONGC aims to clean three source tributaries of river Ganga — the Bhagirathi, Alaknanda and Pindari.
The campaign was flagged off in the presence of the ONGC human resource director DD Misra, CSR chief SSC Parthiban, IMF president Col HS Chauhan and other senior officials from ONGC and IMF.
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, DD Misra said, “Today, we have launched the fourth phase, under which we aim to clean the source and catchment areas of three important tributaries of Ganga in Uttarakhand — Bhagirathi, Alaknanda and Pindari”.
Misra said that the programme is a part of the ‘Swacchta Pakhwada’ drive of the Government of India being held from July 16 to 31, adding that the ONGC remains committed to playing an active role in the Swachchh Bharat Mission of the Government of India.
ONGC is planning to make this effort a perpetual “Total Clean Himalayas” campaign with a view to ensuring the cleanliness and revitalisation of the most unique symbol
of the eco-system — the Himalayas.
ONGC is partnering with Indian Mountaineering Foundation (IMF), as part of the 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, Jammu and Kashmir and Arunachal Pradesh.
The total cost of this project will be Rs 35.4 lakh with each expedition consisting of 8-10 member teams. The duration of each cleaning expedition will be 23 days.
In his introductory remarks, Parthiban said that the efforts made by CSR group of ONGC supported by the top management has led to a collaborative effort between ONGC and IMF as part of Swachhta Pakhwada drive.
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, he added.
Officials informed that 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 body/disposal point.
Collected garbage would be disposed through local recyclers or waste disposal mechanism of the local bodies. 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.
Article Source: The Pioneer