India, Aug. 28 -- The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas has responded to concerns about ethanol-blended petrol by stopping sales at the pump. As of August 25, petrol sales have been suspended at 2,573 retail outlets that did not meet standards, according to senior ministry sources. Of these, Indian Oil Corporation is responsible for 1,257 pumps, Hindustan Petroleum for 915, and Bharat Petroleum for 401.

If these numbers are officially confirmed, this would be the biggest freeze of public-sector petrol sales in years. This contrasts with the ministry's earlier statement this month, which said only two cases of chloride were found after testing over 2,000 samples. Later, oil companies reported four isolated cases across a network of mo...