Navratan Media Bhurta
 

(This is a good example of bad PR. Senior officers of the ONGC were so Boss centric that media was an unwanted entity. This is despite that ONGC had organised the event with advertisements of millions of rupees and it had invited media for the event.. Officers of the Corporate Communication had no say and those who ran the show had no idea of the CC or the importance of the event. It had three ministers, Union Petroleum Minister Murli Deora, MOS Petroleum Dinsha Patel and Textile Minister Shankarsinh Vaghela.)
On Sunday ONGC organised a function to mark 50 years of discovery of oil in Gujarat. This was the first discovery of oil in the post Independence period in the country. A museum was also to be opened at the well site Lunej, 81 kilometers from Ahmedabad. By any count it was a major event.
The ONGC planned a media visit to Lunej at sharp 7.30.  A ramshackle State Transport bus, 3x2, was arranged for the media by the fortune 500 company known for high level of comfort and convenience for its staff and officers.
Bus started around 8 am. It was not before some journalists had a public show of their bad mood over the bus and the delay. Soft spoken, low profile Corporate Communication Manager, Kashyap Joshipura was the target of all queries as DGM CC Pallab Bhattacharya, who was also there, was a stranger to the media.
It was told that the bus was late because of delay in the arrival of refreshments. Hospitality department (Guest House) of the ONGC was looking after refreshment. The bus started without the stock of refreshments. ONGC had two categories of journalists! For category one they had Innova cars and for others the bus. You can call it split branding innovation of the ONGC!
No one knew the way to the site! The driver of the ST bus had the idea of Khambat, but not Lunej. None of the PR staff knew the exact route. All followed the bus and the navigational aid was mobile phone. Even the elite group was at the mercy of the ST bus driver. At Lunej, ONGC had a special tent for the function with a helipad for the ministers and its officers to come from Vadodara and Ahmedabad.
At the pandal, a police sub inspector stopped journalists and wanted to see card. He himself was not aware of the type of card. At this point DGM Pallab intervened. The PSI wanted first Pallab to establish his own identity. Poor chap had to show his ID card to get journalists in the pandal.
As per the printed programme there was a press conference at 1.20 pm. But no one there knew about it's venue. There were two DGMs from the CC unit of Vadodara. No one knew them and they preferred to remain in their seat in the front section of the Pandal enjoying the programme. Secretary to Union Petroleum Minister Murli Deora curtly told journalists that the minister was in hurry and so journalists could talk to him while he was walking. While, this gentleman was saying this, there was an announcement from the stage that journalists should gather at the stage for the press conference!.
All rushed toward the stage. After some journalists gathered on the stage , police stopped the entry of journalists. It was for the safety reasons, police said. Weight might lead to the collapse of the stage, journalists were told. However, all were allowed after some heated arguments. While journalists were trying to adjust to make shift arrangements at the stage, Director HR of ONGC came on the stage.
He asked security not to allow anyone to come close to the ministers and positioned himself just behind the Minister. It was a vantage point to appear straight in the visibility zone of the cameras. Certainly, it was a great opportunity for anyone to be seen in the news and to be archived in the records of the ONGC for the 100 year event of Lunej discovery. Journalists had to scribble standing at the stage evenas the press conference was part of the programme.

 

All did not end with the media interaction. There was another round at the lunch session.
They had two pandals, one for the ministers and the ONGC top brass and the other one for the rest. Officers at the VIP pandal would not allow any journalist to get in. Some could manage to get in courtesy Joshipura who had to request to his seniors for media entry. Many of those who went to the other pandal had to literally struggle to get food.

 

In the VIP pandal, some journalists complained to the Minister of State for Petroleum Dinsha Patel about the bus and poor arrangements. Some had told about this around 12 noon when the Minister had reached the place. The minister called officers of the ONGC and asked them to make arrangements of cars to ferry journalists back to Ahmedabad.
However, when journalists came out there were no promised cars. The top brass had left in helicopters and the ministers were also not there. And they had to return in the 3x2 ordinary khatara bus in the scorching heat of the dry region of Khambat oil field. There is something more to this tale of the Navratan.
ONGC had honoured five of its retired staff since they were with ONGC in 1958. But at lunch, only one of them was allowed entry. It is just because he happened to be a senior officer.

 

When someone drew the attention of Dinsha Patel to this insulting treatment to the honoured guests, he sought details. A senior officer said all were given entry in the VIP pandal. Minister wanted to meet them. The officer vanished in the thin air of the VIP pandal.
The event was about the discovery of oil in 1958 and the museum at the site. No journalist was taken to the site , nor anyone from the stage spoke about oil. Right from Shankarsinh Vaghela to Local MP Bharatsinh Solanki talked about more money to be spent by ONGC in the villages around Lunej.
And like a pre fixed game, the ONGC announced Rs three crore water supply scheme for villages around Lunej for coming years.