New Delhi: State-owned Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) began Sunday supplying a special winter-grade diesel to Ladakh, solving technical issues faced in fuel supply to high-altitude regions during extreme winter conditions.
While IOC’s Panipat refinery had flagged off the first consignment of truck carrying the special grade diesel last week, Home Minister Amit Shah presided over a function Sunday to launch the fuel in the Ladakh region through a video link, an official statement said here.
Motorists in high-altitude sectors such as 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-degrees Celsius.
“IOC has come up with an innovative solution to this problem by introducing a special winter-grade diesel with a low pour-point of minus 33-degrees Celsius, which does not lose its fluidity function even in extreme winter conditions,” the statement released on behalf of the oil major said.
Speaking on the occasion, Amit Shah congratulated the people of Ladakh for getting their long-pending demand fulfilled by getting the Union Territory status for Ladakh.
The new status will accelerate the pace of holistic development of the region and bring prosperity to the people at par with the rest of India, asserted Shah. The home minister said the Government of India has initiated a number of development projects for the UT of Ladakh in the areas of power, solar energy, education and tourism with an estimated investment of Rs 50,000 crore.
Shah also assured the people of Ladakh that they will witness a fast pace of growth and development of the region under the decisive leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan who was also present on the occasion said Ladakh will now get uninterrupted supply of special winter-grade diesel, which will help reduce the hardships faced by the local people for transportation and mobility during the harsh winter months. This will further facilitate the local economy as well as tourism of the region, informed Pradhan.
PTI