Shah launches winter-grade diesel for supply to Ladakh
NEW DELHI: Union home minister Amit Shah on Sunday launched the supply of a special wintergrade diesel for Ladakh, which faces sub-zero temperatures during the winter months.
Shah inaugurated the supply to the newly created Union territory through video-conferencing.
At the event, the Home Minister said that the winter-grade diesel has been developed by the Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) to address the problem of loss of fuel during extreme winter conditions.
Motorists in high-altitude areas like Ladakh, Kargil, Kaza and Keylong face the problem of freezing of diesel in their vehicles when winter temperatures drop to as low as minus 30 degree celsius, an official said.
After being apprised of the difficulties, the IOCL came up with a solution to this problem by introducing a special winter-grade diesel which does not lose its fluidity even in extreme winter conditions, the official said.
This winter-grade diesel also meets BIS specification of BS-VI grade and was successfully produced and certified for the first time by the Panipat Refinery on November 8.
Union minister for petroleum and natural gas Dharmendra Pradhan and Bharatiya Janata Party MP from Ladakh Jamyang Tsering Namgyal were present during the launch.
The first delivery of the fuel is being effected with the launch by the home minister to retail outlets at Leh as the first tank truck containing the winter-grade diesel has been flagged off from Panipat
in Haryana.
Subsequent supplies would be done from Jalandhar in Punjab from where the fuel would reach Leh and Kargil depots to meet demands of customers of the UT of Ladakh during peak winters.
The IOCL, for the last six decades through its unfailing supply and logistics network, is already undertaking the annual task of advanced winter stocking for the region to ensure round the year availability of fuel despite the closure of roads for six months.
JAMMU: One soldier was killed and two more were injured in a suspected improvised explosive device (IED) blast along the Line of Control (LOC) in Akhnoor sector of Jammu district on Sunday, a defence spokesperson said.
According to officials familiar with the developments, the explosion took place when an Army team was on a patrolling duty in Pallanwalla area.
The IED is believed to have been planted from across the border, news agency PTI quoted an official as saying.
The slain soldier has been identified as havildar Santosh Kumar, a resident of Pura Bhadauria village in Agra, Uttar Pradesh. Officials said three soldiers were admitted to Army’s Northern Command hospital in Udhampur, where Kumar succumbed to his injuries during treatment.
Meanwhile, Pakistani Army shelled forward posts and villages along the LOC in Poonch district on Sunday, a defence spokesperson said.
“Pakistani army initiated the unprovoked ceasefire violation by intense firing of small arms and shelling with mortars in Shahpur sectors of Poonch district around 10.50 am. The army posts retaliated strongly and effectively to shelling and firing from Pakistan army,” said PRO defence, Lt Col Devender Anand.
The exchange of fire between both the armies lasted over an hour. Officials said there was no report of any casualty in the shelling.