Shri Ram Naik, Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas, complemented Shri T. Srinivasa Rao and Shri R. Gnanasekaran for having undertaken four World Tours and embarking on the fifth one to arouse the people’s consciousness towards protecting and promoting the ecology world over. The two Environmentalists hailing from Pondicherry, met Shri Ram Naik to share their past experience of the world tours and to present a Book entitled "MISSION SAVE EARTH" authored by them.
Shri Naik emphasised that their endeavour to spread awareness about the need for preservation and protection of environment is very relevant today, especially when the nations are engaged in fierce competition to march ahead of one another, pursuing industrial development in particular. Often this results in neglect of issues concerning sustainable development of which healthy environment is a prerequisite. Announcing an assistance of Rs. 15 lakhs equally shared by Oil and Natural Gas Corporation, Indian Oil Corporation and Gas Authority of India Limited, the Minister said the PSUs under the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas are proud to associate with such a noble cause. "In fact the oil industry has contributed in the form of significant improvement in the quality of fuel supplied in the country so that auto emission is brought down to world standards. For example supply of low sulphur diesel (0.05% sulphur) and unleaded & low benzene (1%) petrol in four Metros is at par with most of the countries in the world including developed countries. Moreover unleaded petrol is being sold through out the country", Shri Naik said.
Mr T.Srinivasa Rao and Mr R.Gnanasekaran informed the Minister that the oil industry has been extending its full cooperation and support to them since 1990. They complemented Petroleum Minister for his concerns to improve and preserve environment. The young environmentalists further informed Shri Naik that their current tour which is 5th in the series of world tours focusses on 'Mission Save Earth' Campaign to bring the world together to save the world from the Global Warming. The present tour will cover 5 Continents and is expected to conclude by the year 2003.
They told the Minister that they began in 1986 by travelling nearly 65,000 kilometres across 38 countries on a bicycle carrying the message "Nuclear Disarmament and World Peace". The second such endeavour was "Save Environment Today - or Tomorrow will be too late" during 1990-93 when they covered 1.6 lakh kilometres across 70 countries in a Maruti Gypsy. This was followed by a tour covering 55,000 kilometres during 1996-98, with the message "Save Antarctica" completed successfully in a Maruti Zen. All these three world tours ended at UN Headquarters in New York with a meeting with the respective Secretaries General. The fourth tour on a Maruti Gypsy concluded recently in which they had travelled 50,000 kilometres .
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