NEW DELHI: Undaunted by the limitations due to coronavirus pandemic and the lockdown, state-run Indian Oil 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. Hindustan Petroleum will move some 20,000 kl from its Bhatinda refinery.
A similar exercise is carried out for high-altitude areas of Kinnaur, Lahaul-Spiti and Chamba in Himachal Pradesh.
