Concerned over the fuel shortages and petrol pumps running dry, the government called in Army said on Friday  to ensure supply lines are not dried due to the ongoing strike by oil sector executives.

"The government will deploy central forces wherever necessary," petroleum secretary R S Pandey earlier told reporters even as petroleum minister Murli Deora met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to brief him about the strike by officers of oil PSUs that entered the third day on Friday.

According to an earlier report, the crisis management group, under Cabinet secretary K M Chandrashekhar met on Friday and considered the option of bringing in the Army to move petroleum product cargoes from refineries to petrol pumps but did not take a firm decision on this.

The option was considered as there was no loading or cargo despatching activity in Indian Oil Corporation [Get Quote].

IOC chairman Sarthak Behuria said, "We have exhausted all options and now we have to make officers work."

A large number of petrol pumps across the country went dry as the indefinite strike by oil PSU executives entered the third day on Friday, with the possibility of a major fuel supply crisis looming large.

However, some officers have returned to work in BPCL [Get Quote]. Aviation refuelling services were near normal and HPCL [Get Quote] was functioning as usual.

About two-thirds of the 425 petrol pumps in the National Capital did not open because of lack of stocks, while 60 per cent outlets in Mumbai put up 'No Stock' signboards.

Mumbai also ran out of compressed natural gas, which runs some two lakh buses, taxis and autos, but Delhi had enough CNG and piped natural gas stocks to last 7 to 10 days.

While Hindustan Petroleum pumps across the country were operating normally, Bharat Petroleum senior management officials were ensuring that there were dispatches of petrol and diesel to the company's outlets.

• Oilmen strike brings country to a grinding halt