MAHARATNA oil PSU ONGC is taking
Narendra Modi's Clean India Mission (Swatchh Bharat) to the Himalayas
literally. ONGC is taken measures to nurse the ground and clean up key sources
of water in the Himalayas. The national flagship explorer has joined four
expeditions launched by the Indian Mountaineering Foundation, the apex
mountaineering body, to take Swatchh Bharat campaign to Himalayan heights. The
expeditions...
will bring back mountains of garbage, left behind by climbers and
thousands of trekkers, from four regions in the Himalaya, reports The Times of
India.
"This is the first time adventure has entered CSR
(corporate social responsibility) lexicon. We have the expertise and access to
mountains. ONGC has the resources and decided to join us in cleaning up these
challenging heights in the Himalaya," IMF president Col (Retd) H S Chauhan
was quoted as telling TOI.
ONGC has one representative in each expedition. ONGC's
venture with the IMF stands out as corporate sponsorship for mountaineering or
other adventure sports is not common in India. Big conglomerates like the Tata
group back their own adventure wings.
Each team is being led by an IMF expert. The teams have been
kept small and are expected to return by the end of this month.
Experts have warned against piling garbage in the Himalaya.
Non-biodegradable waste absorbs heat which raises temperature and speeds up the
rate at which glaciers melt. Faster glacial melting rate has been linked to
shrinking of glaciers and give rise to glacial lakes that can burst with
devastating results downstream. The expeditions would start mopping up waste
from the village, right to the top.
Earlier, as part of its CSR initiative, the flagship oil
company adopted Taj Mahal, a world heritage site under the Clean India Campaign.
The ONGC has taken upon its shoulders the responsibility of
cleaning the 561 ft long marble mausoleum and its premises. ONGC has also
received the go ahead from ASI for adopting five more monuments under the Clean
India campaign. The monuments include Ellora, Elephanta Caves in Maharashtra,
the Red Fort in Delhi, Golkonda Fort near Hyderabad, and Mahabalipuram in Tamil
Nadu.
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