About 17-million tons of crude oil is imported by our country every year. In order to bring down the amount of crude oil that we import, a mass awareness campaign to educate the consumers about oil and gas conservation has been launched across India. This awareness campaign began on 16 January and it will conclude on 15 February. Today, in Coimbatore, as a part of the campaign, a fuel efficient driving car contest was hosted by Indian Oil Corporation Limited in connection with 'Saksham' 2017 Oil & Gas Conservation Mass Awareness Campaign.
Owners of Hyundai i20 and Hyundai grand i10 were allowed to participate in this awareness contest. About 52 car owners participated in this awareness campaign that was flagged off at M/s Ravichandra Auto IndianOil Retail Outlet at Avinashi Road this morning. T.G.Nagarajan, General Manager (Lubes), IndianOil, Tamil Nadu State Office and P. Srivatsan, Regional Parts & Service Manager, Hyundai Motor India Ltd. R. Udayakumar, Deputy General Manager (Lubes), IndianOil, Tamil Nadu State Office and C. Sarathkumar, Chief Divisional Retail Sales Manager, Coimbatore Divisional Office were present during this flag off.
The participants drove to Mettupalayam main road via Kalapatti and this rally ended at Black Thunder Resort. The most fuel efficient cars were declared winners. “The major objective of this contest is to propagate the importance of fuel conservation and to encourage fuel efficient driving techniques. All technical support for this driving contest is being given by Hyundai Motor India Ltd.” T.G.Nagarajan said after the flag-off.
Saksham 2017 is an initiative of Petroleum Conservation Research Association (PCRA) and Oil & Gas Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) under the aegis of Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas (MoPNG). Under the Saksham 2017 banner, several awareness campaigns are being organized across our country to sensitize the public about the conservation and efficient use of petroleum products towards achieving twin objectives of better health and environment and securing availability of Oil and Gas for future generations.
The campaign is named as Saksham 2017 (Sanrakshan Kshamta Mahotsav) in which a number of activities are being carried out based on the theme of the event – ‘Indhan Samrakshan ki Zimmedaari, Jangan ki Bhaagidhaari.’ This campaign is aimed at showing people the way forward to enhance conservation capabilities, help understand need, issues and solutions for conservation and effective utilization of petroleum products.
This campaign also targets to give message that collective participation is the key to conservation. The activities are carried out by the State Level Coordinators (SLCs) of the Oil Industry in each State under the directions of the Regional Level Coordinators (RLCs).
The theme for this year’s campaign is ‘How to Save Fuel for Better Environment and Health.’