Petrol pumps in many parts of the country went dry and more are expected to run out of stock by tomorrow as the indefinite strike by oil PSU officers entered the second day on Thursday, provoking the Government to ask company managements to sack close to 70 executives leading the stir.
Nearly 30 per cent of petrol pumps in Delhi and about 100 in Mumbai went without petrol and diesel, while there is a minimum 7-day wait period for delivery of domestic LPG gas.
At the airports, absence of officers led to delay in refuelling of airplanes and some flight were delayed. CNG pumps in Mumbai went without gas after officers in ONGC stopped natural gas production off Mumbai shore. Delhi may also see a CNG crisis on Friday.
Meanwhile, after Delhi and Assam, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra invoked ESMA to ensure uninterrupted fuel supplies.
The situation may worsen in next couple of days as talks with Oil Sector Officers Association failed. OSOA, which did not turn up for talks with Petroleum Minister Murli Deora on Wednesday evening, stuck to its stand for immediate sanction of higher wages in 14 PSUs.
Delhi and Uttar Pradesh Police raided an IOC premises in Noida, near in New Delhi, where OSOA leaders had gathered after hiding for two days, but no one including President Amit Kumar, could be arrested as they made good escape during the lien the company management took from them to conclude talks.
{{/usCountry}}Delhi and Uttar Pradesh Police raided an IOC premises in Noida, near in New Delhi, where OSOA leaders had gathered after hiding for two days, but no one including President Amit Kumar, could be arrested as they made good escape during the lien the company management took from them to conclude talks.
{{/usCountry}}However, the two ONGC officers arrested on Wednesday were released by the court on condition that they give an undertaking not to strike or instigate it.