IOC sets rolling its annual Op Ladakh
Times of India, New Delhi   07-Apr-2020

Undaunted by the limitations due to the coronavirus pandemic and the lockdown, state-run IndianOil Corporation (IOC) has begun the world's largest humanitarian supply exercise to wheel 120,000 kilo litres of fuels and 3,300 tonne of LPG across mountain passes to the newly-created Union territory of Ladakh.

The annual exercise is larger than the Berlin airlift in terms of tonnage hauled till date. For the next 3-4 months, 1,000 tankers will each make 10-12 trips on an average to Kargil and Leh from the company's Jammu, Jalandhar and Sangrur terminals to create stockpiles of petrol, diesel, jet fuel, kerosene and LPG. This stockpile keeps life from freezing over during the eight-month-long winter once walls of snow snap all road links.

"Our people work tirelessly in extreme weather conditions to ensure fuel supplies to 2 lakh civil and 3 lakh defence personnel in Ladakh. We maintain the lifeline for the last mile, be it Siachen or other forward posts throughout the year," IOC director ( HR) Ranjan Kumar Mohapatra told TOI.