ONGC Launches ‘Cleanathon Himalaya’ To Clean Three Important Tributaries Of The Ganges

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New Delhi, 24th July, 2017: Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) inked a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with Indian Mountaineering Federation (IMF) at Urja Bhawan, for cleaning the Himalayas as part of the Swachh Bharat Pakhwada. Aptly titled as ‘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 a grand ceremony in the presence of Mr. DD Misra, Director, ONGC; Mr. SSC Parthiban, ED-Chief CSR, ONGC; Col H S Chauhan, President IMF; Dr. Alka Mittal, GGM Head CSR, ONGC. Other senior officials from ONGC and IMF were present during the Memorandum of Agreement signing ceremony.

Launching the current edition of the programme, Shri D D Misra, Director 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 i.e. Bhagirathi, Alaknanda and Pindari.”

Mr. SSC Parthiban, ED-Chief also reiterated what Shri Misra mentioned that the efforts made by the CSR group of ONGC has led to a collaborative effort between the company and IMF as part of the Swacchta Pakhwada drive of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MoPNG) beginning from 16th to 31st July, 2017, and ONGC remains committed to play an active role in the Swachh Bharat Mission of the Government of India.

ONGC is planning to make this effort a perpetual “Total Clean Himalayas” campaign, with a view to ensure cleanliness and revitalisation of the most unique symbol of our eco-system, the Himalayas, by removing hazardous garbage/waste generated by tourists at different tourist spots of the Himalayas. In the three phases completed so far, ONGC has covered important peaks and glaciers of the Himalayas in Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and Arunachal Pradesh.

The total cost of this project will be Rs 35.4 Lakhs, with each expedition consisting of 8 to 10 member teams. The duration of each cleaning expedition will be 23 days, starting from July 2017 and ending in December 2017.

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