The fuel storage in the Police Lines of around 50 districts has already been exhausted. According to sources, the crisis will last till April.

“We immediately need Rs 20 crore to pay the dues of petrol pumps so borrowing continues unhindered. The crisis has created an impact on the routine patrolling,” said an IPS officer.

On an avarage, 150 litre of fuel is allocated to each vehicle per month and districts like Lucknow and Allahabad require more due to the additional movement of the vehicles. In Lucknow, Rs 65 lakh is spent monthly on fuel, whereas the figure is around Rs 35 lakh in Allahabad.

The worst hit is the fire tenders of the districts where there is an immediate requirement of fuel. In Allahabad, Kanpur, Varanasi and some other districts, the movement of fire tenders has been hindered as several petrol pump owners have refused to provide fuel to the department because of unpaid dues.

The fire tenders of Allahabad have not been moving due to the shortage. The vehicles go out only when a big incident takes place, said an officer of the Fire department.