Imphal, May 12: Petrol and oil pumps in manipur were today shut down for several hours by the All Manipur Petrol Pump Dealers Association, which demanded a formal apology from the director of consumers affairs, food and public distribution, Y. Ranjan, for making "false allegations against two oil pumps".

The association demanded that Ranjan tender a formal apology through the media. It also submitted a memorandum to chief minister Nongthombam Biren Singh. The association said it would close all oil pumps indefinitely if their demand is not met.

According to the memorandum Ranjan made false allegations, through news media on May 5, against Jas Gas station and Uripok Energy Station of Imphal West.

The association said a team, led by Ranjan, conducted a surprise raid at Jas Gas station on the morning of May 4 where he claimed that 10 kilolitres of petrol and 12 kilolitres of diesel were found in the underground tanks despite a "petrol nil" sign put in front of the station and alleged the station was hoarding fuel.

The association said Jas Gas station was issued 10 kilolitres of petrol, which was unloaded at around 7.30am.

It further said it takes around an hour for the slush to settle at the bottom of the underground tank. The "petrol nil" sign is usually displayed during this time to stop customers during the decanting process, the memorandum mentioned.

While checking the stock of diesel at Uripok Energy station the team smelt the diesel stuck to the rod used for inspecting stock level and made casual comments that the diesel was spiked with kerosene, without any kind of verification as per the Marketing Discipline Guideline issued by the ministry of petroleum and oil gases, the association complained.

The allegation of hoarding, made by Ranjan in the media, was baseless and was only meant to tarnish the image of the oil pumps in the eyes of the public, the association said.

The association had given an ultimatum to Ranjan to clarify his statements through news media on or before May 7. As the director failed to clarify, the association urged the chief minister to intervene, settle the issue and avoid closure of oil pumps.

Later, around 2pm today, the oil pumps were opened after talks with the consumers affairs, food and public distribution minister Karam Shyam. However, the ground on which the agreement was made was not disclosed.