The Territorial Army (TA) stepped in and took control of oil installations in Manipur which were not operational, and augmented manpower where there is a shortage to ensure supplies of essential petroleum and oil products, and refuelling of aircraft, Indian Army officials said. This was necessitated in the wake of crisis that engulfed Manipur as employees and contract workers of oil marketing companies were not able to reach installations due to security constraints, or had to be evacuated due to ethnic violence, officials said.
“The installations were, therefore, either shut due to non-availability of employees or not fully operational due to shortage of manpower. This led to the operational necessity of deploying TA to manage the three vital oil installations which were the energy lifeline for Manipur — Imphal aviation fuelling station, Malom bulk oil depot, and Sekmai LPG (liquified petroleum gas) bottling plant,” an Army official said on May 22.
