(TOI)
Globally, oil companies are known to prefer baking the earth for profit. But in India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Swachh Bharat (Clean India) campaign is driving them to the Himalayas — sometimes even outside the country’s boundaries — in search of corporate social salvation.
From launching expeditions to clean up major sources of water, creating public conveniences and specialised medical facilities for tourists and innovative underground cellars for vegetables, public sector oil companies are spending part of their profit to help preserve the pristine Himalayan nature and improve people’s lives.
And just as in mountaineering, there appears to be an unsaid competition among the biggies on getting higher. If refiner-marketer Indian Oil is building public toilets in Leh and setting up a specialised medical facility atop Khardung La — at 5,359 meters the world’s highest motorable pass, explorer ONGC intends to put a team of young executives atop Mt. Everest and bring back garbage for proper disposal from various camps along the summit route.
