Oil conservation fortnight kicks off

The fortnight is being organised by the Indian Oil Corporation in collaboration with the Union Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas.

Mayor Anu Chatrath was the chief guest for the function.

In his welcome address,Amit Mehra,senior regional manager,HPCL,Chandigarh,said the fortnight is being celebrated every year since 1991.

He stressed upon the need for use of ethanol-blended petrol and jatropha-based biodiesel,which are being promoted vigorously to reduce consumption of fossil fuels,save foreign exchange and also conserve the environment.

A brief account of activities to be undertaken during the fortnight was also given.

These include mass rally,cycle rally,drawing and painting competition,quiz contest and transport and industry meets.

D L N Sastri of Indian Oil Corporation emphasised the importance of conserving oil and natural gas for the coming generation.

Meanwhile,in Mohali,the fortnight under the theme,‘Save fuel save money’,was inaugurated by D S Jaspal,Principal Secretary to Punjab,Department of Transport,at the auditorium of National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPER) in Sector 67 here.

Speaking on the occasion,the chief guest stressed the need for conservation of oil and other natural resources,which were limited against the spiralling demand in the country.

“Oil conservation assumes greater importance in view of the high crude oil prices,hitting $82 per barrel in the international market last month. The high prices of crude oil resulted in crippling of not only Indian economy but also the world economy and raising the rate of inflation,” Jaspal said.

He also raised serious concern about the vulnerability of the country’s economy to high and volatile prices of petroleum products and underlined the need of efforts to undertake conservation activities.

In his welcome address,Rajesh Sharma,deputy general manager,Indian Oil Corporation,Punjab,exhorted the participants to undertake conservation activities as the need of the hour.

Schoolchildren put up a colourful cultural programme with the message of conservation of fuel.

A mobile van carrying messages about oil and gas conservation was also flagged off on the occasion. The van will tour different parts of Punjab during the fortnight spreading the message on oil and gas conservation.