Petroleum minister flags off ONGC Everest Expedition 2017 -Governance Now

Petroleum minister flags off ONGC Everest Expedition 2017

The move is aimed at preparing a team of ONGC young employees who had no formal knowledge or skills in mountaineering craft to attempt scale the highest peak on the earth

GN Bureau | March 29, 2017

#Everest expedition #petroleum #ONGC #PSU

In what could be seen as a first of its kind initiative by any corporate to scale Mount Everest, petroleum minister of state, Dharmendra Pradhan flagged off the ONGC Everest Expedition today at at India Habitat Center in New Delhi.

The entire team of ONGC has been trained for this herculean task by experts from IMF, an ONGC release said.

The attempt is aimed at preparing a team of ONGC young employees who had little or no formal knowledge or skills in mountaineering craft to attempt scale the highest peak on the earth.

The genesis of ONGC’s Everest expedition began two years ago in October 2015 when ONGC Everest successfully completed the trek to Everest base camp (17,000 ft) with a team of 21 climbers. From here began a mission to scale Mount Everest in 2017.

Over 150 Everest aspirants underwent a strenuous selection process before the final team for the Summit was identified. An official said that 11 out of over 150 employees have completed the stringent eligibility criteria for this programme.

The entire selection and training took nearly 15 months and had an eight stage elimination process which tested the physical and mental endurance levels of the participants.

A coffee table book titled ‘JUNGLE! The Forests of India’ authored by renowned wildlife photographer Sunjoy Monga was also released by Pradhan. The book is a first that captures all the forests of India, right from Himalayas to the Andamans. ONGC has been associated with the publication of the book, which captures the rich biodiversity of our country and spreading awareness about protecting its ecosystem.

CMD, ONGC D K Sarraf said “The expedition of this nature needs enormous courage, conviction and discipline. These are also the basic needs for a company like ONGC where we have to live with and defeat uncertainties”. He further added that the team that is going for this expedition has already displayed sheer courage and confidence and most importantly team spirit. We have also planned to train and send teams for Everest Expedition every year.

Director HR D D Misra, who is the driving force behind this initiative, outlined various stages of training programme those have been imparted to the participants in the expedition.

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