4 min readMumbaiMay 21, 2026 11:33 AM IST
First published on: May 21, 2026 at 04:00 AM IST
From tractors idling in Vidarbha’s farms to kilometre-long queues outside pumps across Nashik, Sangli and Buldhana, Maharashtra’s fuel shortage is beginning to hit both rural life and urban mobility, with the estimates that nearly 20-25 per cent petrol pumps especially in rural pockets are facing supply disruptions. The crisis has been most acute in rural pockets, where diesel rationing and refusal to sell fuel in cans have slowed pre-monsoon agricultural work, forcing farmers to leave tractors idle for hours.
Even as reports of fights at pumps and panic buying surfaced from several districts, the state government insisted there was “no shortage” and blamed global supply disruptions linked to the West Asia conflict, while Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis appealed to citizens against hoarding fuel.
“State has adequate stock of petrol, diesel and other petroleum products. People have started panic buying and refilling additional fuel than regular practice. This panic buying has created supply chain problem and affected the supply to pumps. I urge people not to start panic buying,” said Fadnavis.
Farmers have sounded an alarm that diesel shortage has already halted tilling of farms that annually takes place before the onset of monsoon. “The tilling work is largely affected in Vidarbha where the land holding is large. The shortage of diesel in tractors is a major concern in rural parts,” said Ravikant Tupkar, a farmer leader and founder of Krantikari Shekati Sanghtana from west Vidarbha’s Buldhana district.
According to Tupkar, tractor owners usually carry large cans to buy diesel as taking tractors to pumps from farms is not economical. “Pump owners have stopped giving diesel in cans, virtually bringing the pre-monsoon agriculture works to a halt,” said Tupkar. He added that the practice of using bullocks is declining due to the expenses involved in maintaining them.
According to farmer leaders, from May 11, pump operators in rural areas have been rationing only 10 to 15 liters of diesel per day to tractor owners. This amount of diesel only suffices for 3 to 4 hours, leaving the tractors idle for the remaining hours.
A petrol pump owner from rural Nagpur said, “Some of us are not getting the fuel supply on credit basis. Paying advance amount will not be feasible for us.” Ravi Shinde, advisor to Petrol Dealers’ Association, told The Indian Express that companies stopping giving fuel on credit has been a huge factor. “With oil companies facing monetary losses, they have stopped giving fuel on credit. Now they want advance payment. Earlier, they used give credit of 4/5 days. With less supply the cash flow is disrupted, it further delays future payments and the cycle continues,” he said.
According to Shinde, the high volume of fuel in Mumbai has safeguarded the city areas to some extent. “But if war continues, cities too will have to bear the brunt,” he said.
Explaining further, he said, when one pump runs out of fuel, it increases pressure on another in the vicinity, eventually disturbing their operations.
The problem intensifies on Mondays as banks remain closed on Sundays, delaying payments.
According to the state government’s Food and Civil Supplies department, Maharashtra has around 8,100 fuel pumps from public sector companies. The government estimates that state requires 18 million litres of petrol per day and 34 million litres of diesel per day. Out of these, 10 to 12% is the consumption in Mumbai.
Cans kept in queue at a petrol pump in Buldhana district of Maharashtra. Express 
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