Updated: November 15, 2020 7:10:52 am
At a checkpoint along a road leading to Ladakh. Reuters Archive
With Farmers’ protests stir Punjab and railways suspend services of freight and passenger trains, the Army hit the road to ensure the supply of essential supplies for troops on the northern borders. Military sources said that the provision of winter supplies for the personnel of the Army and the Central Armed Police Forces deployed in Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh was completed at the end of October. Any additional resupply will take place once the crossings in J&K and Himachal Pradesh are closed, the sources said.
Suspension of train services after farmers’ protests, which gained momentum after the Center enacted new agricultural laws, had led Punjab’s Chief Minister Amarinder Singh to warn that it would not only affect the state’s farmers and industry and the people of neighboring states, but also supply of essentials for soldiers preparing for winter in Ladakh and the Valley.
A senior Army official said adequate reserves already exist and the rail blockade will not pose a serious threat. Additionally, the movement of special military trains for exercises and field shooting, the officer said, has not taken place due to Covid restrictions.
Major General Yash Mor (retired), who raised the Ladakh Subarea a couple of years ago and was a Corps Chief of Staff until recently, said: “The winter stocking for Ladakh is over. There is enough short emptying of essential stores, food and clothing, etc., which is then moved up according to the requirements. It is a very well adjusted cycle and, in any case, most of the movement of supplies is done by road. Any resupply that needs to be done to outpost areas is done by air once the roads are blocked due to snowfall later in late October.
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A senior official with the Northern Railways acknowledged that some freight trains destined for Army supplies were delayed in the last 50 days. Railroad officials contacted Army officials, who told them that although they had already pre-emptied rations, clothing, weapons, ammunition and equipment, there are some daily requirements.
Punjab farmers during the discussion session with the Center. (Photo: Twitter / Narendra Singh Tomar)
“After farmers launched the Rail Roko in Punjab, at least 15-20 trains with supplies from the army were affected. These were not Army special trains, but general cargo trains carrying supplies for the Army, ”said a Northern Railways official.
Another Railroad official said that since the blockade, the Army has made no special requests for trains for J&K. Regular inquiries about the resumption of freight trains come from the Army, the official said, adding that “if there is an emergency, special trains can be operated for the armed forces.”
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