Indian Army is stocking up specialised clothing, prefabricated shelters, Arctic tents, fuel and other equipment to sustain itself through the harsh winter of a super high-altitude region like eastern Ladakh since the Chinese troops are yet to disengage from the immediate face-off sites on the north bank of Pangong Tso and Gogra-Hot Springs area in eastern Ladakh. The Army has kicked off the process for this massive logistical exercise to ensure adequate special rations and other supplies for its soldiers to sustain in the harsh winter.
The next stage of de-escalation and eventual de-induction of the well over 30,000 troops each amassed by the two sides in the ‘depth areas’ along the 1,597-km frontier in eastern Ladakh, along with tanks, artillery guns and other heavy weaponry, is still nowhere on the horizon.
PLA not going anywhere soon
A senior officer said, “The People’s Liberation Army is not going anywhere soon. So, we are systematically preparing for the long haul, with the planning for our logistics and ‘advance winter stocking’ (AWS) underway.” He added, “We may have to maintain a lot of our troops in the forward areas even during the winter to ensure the PLA cannot exploit the situation.”
The AWS, which includes planning, procurement and arranging transportation for supplies, is a long-drawn, complicated yearly exercise to “pre-position and stock supplies” in all forward locations before the onset of winter and snowfall.
The challenge is much more forbidding this time because more than triple the number of normal troops are now deployed in the region after the military stand-off with China erupted in early May. The forward locations, most of them over 15,000 feet in altitude, become largely inaccessible and remain cut off from November onwards.
The AWS supplies are carried in truck convoys from the plains of north India through the two road routes to Ladakh from Srinagar via the Zoji La pass and Manali via the Rohtang Pass, which remain open from May to October every year. The air route to Leh from Chandigarh and other places is also used but has its own limitations due to altitude and weather conditions.
“If the usual requirement in Ladakh is about 30,000 tonnes of rations for the entire year, this time at least double the quantity will be required due to the additional troops deployed there,” the officer said.
