DKPDWMA Complains to Dist Admin against Illegal Packaged Water Manufacturing Co’s
- Dakshina Kannada Packaged Drinking Water Manufacturers Association (DKPWMA) complains and submits memorandum to District Administration against Illegal packaged Water manufacturing Companies.
Mangaluru : You think bottled water is safe? Well, think again. Over 30 illegal packaged water bottling units are operating in the Dakshina Kannada district, often using the fake labels with ISI mark of the licensed manufacturers, putting the health of people at risk. But local health officials seem oblivious of the danger to people’s health and safety, and have turned a blind eye to this issue.
It may sound horrific but only 18 water bottling plants have the licence to supply packaged drinking water in DK/Mangaluru. It’s a big reason for worry. Since illegal packaged water manufacturing industries hardly meet the standards of water purification, but escape getting checked by government officials due to their address and hand-in-hand connection with the concerned authorities. Many times when impurities or foreign bodies are found in the bottled water , after a probe, the suppliers are found to be illegal operators. If the condition of DK/Mangaluru is like this, then what will be the situation in the other parts of the State.
Authorities say operating illegal units is a lucrative business. But when such businesses are caught by the authorities during surprise raids, no action is taken against them by the administration nor government. This has again given them the freedom to keep running their illegal business. In fact, the High Court had asked the government agencies to crack down on bottling units selling water without a licence and a proper certification from the ISI. But that hasn’t helped, bona fide bottlers lament.
It is learnt that every registered water bottling unit has to set up a lab for testing the presence of chemicals and microbes. These reports have to be submitted to the Bureau of Indian Standards every week. They also have to give water samples to a government lab but such tests are conducted only on the licensed plants. The unlicensed plants do not have to undergo any such test. They operate unhindered – even without proper water purification equipment. Besides the poor quality of water they supply, these unlicensed operators also evade the sales tax which is mandatory. There can be no solution until the government raids such unlicensed plants and stops unlicensed owners from supplying unpurified water and putting the life of people in jeopardy. But the officials have turned a blind eye, with hand-in-hand operation with such illegal water bottling companies, it is said.
Having hurt their businesses by illegal water manufacturing companies, on 23 November Packaged Drinking Water Manufacturers have complained that illegal industrial units have been manufacturing and selling packaged drinking water without following safety standards. In a memorandum submitted to the district administration on Monday, Dakshina Kannada Packaged Drinking Water Manufacturers Association members stated there are about 30 such units in the district that sell packaged drinking water, and they have not got clearance from the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI). The delegation sought action against all such illegal packaged drinking water units.
Association convener Shashidhar Bhat said while 18 drinking water plants have been functioning with necessary clearances from ISI and FSSAI, nearly 30 units are operating illegally in the district. “Those units have no valid licenses and they do not adhere to hygiene. Since they do not pay statutory fees and follow no standards, they are dumping the material in the market at a lesser price that we cannot afford due to our actual cost of production,” he said. The association has requested the district administration to verify and take necessary action against those illegal units.
