Union Home Minister Amit Shah presided over a function to launch a special winter-grade diesel, developed by Indian Oil Corporation (Indian Oil), for the high-altitude regions of Ladakh through a video-link here today. Shri Dharmendra Pradhan, Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas and Steel, and Shri Jamyang Tsering Namgyal, MP of Ladakh were also present on the occasion.Motorists in high-altitude sectors like Ladakh, Kargil, Kaza and Keylong face the problem of freezing of diesel in their vehicles when winter temperatures drop to as low as -30o Celsius. Indian Oil has come up with an innovative solution to this problem by introducing a special winter-grade diesel with a low pour-point of -33o Celsius, which does not lose its fluidity function even in extreme winter conditions.Speaking on the occasion, Shri Amit Shah congratulated the people of Ladakh for getting their long-pending demand fulfilled, by getting 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.The Home Minister said that 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.
He further said that, keeping in view the special development requirement of the region, the Government of India has made a provision that the budget allocation for the UT of Ladakh will remain non-lapsable, so as to enable the local administration to make full use of these funds as per their development needs. The Home Minister assured the people of UT of Ladakh that they will witness a fast pace of growth and development of the region under the decisive leadership of Hon’ble Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi.Expressing his happiness at Indian Oil’s customer-driven approach,Shri Dharmendra Pradhan said that today is an important day for the people of Ladakh region as they 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. Shri Pradhan expressed his gratitude to the Home Minister for launching the special winter-grade diesel and facilitating ease of living for the Ladakh region.Shri Pradhan reassured that the UT of Ladakh will have all-round development under the visionary leadership of Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi and people-centric welfare initiatives of Home Minister Shri Amit Shah.The Home Minister and Petroleum Minister complimented the Indian Oil Team for devising solutions to help cater to the energy needs of the consumers in various parts of the country.