Congress and BJP workers raise Cain at the inaugural ceremony of Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) terminal depot at Pub wall village in Una on June 9. There were many well-known personalities presented at the ceremony including Union Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Dharmendra Pradhan, State President of BJP and Una MLA Satpal Satti, Food and Civil Supplies Minister GS Bali and BJP MP of Hamirpur Anurag Thakur.

The sloganeering was very loud and the program could not be continued. Mukesh Agnihotri tried to pacify the workers but with no results. Minister of Industries, Mukesh Agnihotri said that the state government has brought this project to this area. Dharmendra Pradhan informed in his speech that the project involves the investment of 507 crores. It is of utmost importance to the state and the army as apart from supplying the different parts of the state, it would also restock the supplies of the army from Manali-Leh route.

 Eventually, the CM laid the foundation stone of the plan.

About the project

• The terminal is 200 km from the state’s capital and will meet the annual winter fuel stocking for defense posts at Karu, Upshi, Nima, and Kari via Rohtang pass

• The oil will come from Jalandhar through the pipeline to the IOC terminal.

• 30% of the pipeline is already completed.

• Besides supplying different areas of the state, the pipeline will provide direct and indirect employment to the natives

• The cost of the project is Rs 507 crores in which pipeline laying cost is Rs 150 crore and terminal construction cost is Rs 350 crore

• Chief Minister, Mr. Virbhadra Singh announced that the requirement of petroleum products will be easily met in the state after the opening of this terminal, which is now being supplied by Ambala and Jalandhar

• In future, an underground pipeline would also be laid from Jalandhar to Una

• The terminal would supply 224 retail outlets, 125 consumer pumps and22 kerosene oil agencies. Annually, it will supply 580,000 KL in Himachal Pradesh

• The state government had provided 61 acres of land on token lease of Re 1in 2014 for this terminal

• In the hilly region of the state, two bottling plants of 90,000 MT capacity would be established for LPG refill

• There is a suggestion to extend the Hoshiarpur-Jaijon broad gauge line to link it with the Tahliwal industrial area in Una

Well, this project, if implemented successfully with perfect planning, will not only make the state independent in terms of petroleum and natural gas requirements but also create new employment opportunities for the unemployed youth. It will also promote industrial development of the constituency, particularly the Tahliwal area