| New Delhi: The oil crisis will be brought under control by midnight Friday, Petroleum Minister Murli Deora said here.
"The crisis created by the ongoing oil strike should be under control by Friday afternoon or midnight," he told reporters.
"The people should be made aware about the losses due to the strike and that they (striking oil sector officers) should withdraw this agitation immediately," he added.
Deora said he had held talks with the leaders of the strikers till 1.30 a.m. Friday, but to no avail. He did not say anything about conceding to the demand for a wage hike, indicating that the government had called off negotiations.
The strike has affected the operations at refineries, while plants in Panipat, Haldia, Mathura and Gujarat being forced to shut down.
The strike, by thousands of officers of public sector oil firms that started Wednesday, has led to nearly 37,000 petrol pumps across the country running dry, while power stations are unable to function due to the lack of natural gas and even the Mathura refinery, one of the largest in north India, being forced to shut down.
The Aditya Birla group also informed the Bombay Stock Exchange that it has been forced to shut down its fertiliser plant in Jagdishpur in Uttar Pradesh as there was no supply of gas needed to run the facility.
Air Force readies air-to-air refuellers to face fuel crisis
New Delhi: The Indian Air Force (IAF) has readied its squadron of IL-78 midair refuellers to supply aviation fuel in case the strike by employees of public sector oil firms cripples the aviation sector, an official said here Friday.
"The six IL-78 aircraft have been kept ready to deal with a crisis situation if the need arises," a senior IAF official said.
The IL-78 squadron is based at Agra. A fully loaded IL-78 aircraft carries 60 tonnes of fuel and can refuel two airbuses.
The official added that the strike has not so far affected commercial flights.
The Oil Sector Officers' Association (OSOA), an umbrella body of employees of public sector oil companies, has called the strike in support of its demand for a wage hike. (IANS) | 
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