Hyderabad has one of the largest numbers of unauthorised packaged drinking water units
Picture for representational purpose
Hyderabad:Hyderabad has one of the largest numbers of unauthorised packaged drinking water units in the country. Water packaging units need to be certified by the Indian Standard Institute before they can start operating. Though there are over 2,000 packaged drinking water units in Greater Hyderabad, the contrasting fact is that in the entire Telangana state, there are less than 80 units certified by the Bureau of Indian Standards.
Most households in the twin cities depend on packaged drinking water thinking that the water will be safer than that supplied by the Water Board. However, a system to check the non-licenced manufacturers is lacking.
Bureau of Indian Standard issues ISI licenses to companies after assessing the structural setup and hygienic standards of the unit. “Licenses are given to the company after assessing the source of water, infrastructure and hygienic standards of the production. Water treatment plants need to have a laboratory with two experts, including a microbiologist and chemical analyst, who need to check the standard of the drinking water and only then release it in the market,” said Rama Krishna Rao, in-charge (water) BIS, Telangana.
The BIS team checks the standards of packaged drinking water of licensed companies by randomly picking up samples from the market. If the standards are found to have fallen, the license renewal is put under suspension till it is corrected, added the official.
However, the non-licensed companies avoid inspections and random checks just by not taking the licence. Food Safety and Standards Authority of India, which should look into the enforcement of the standards of packaged drinking water, hardly ever raids these illegal companies.
Licensed units skip renewal:
With no checks on the thriving illegal packaged drinking water firms, companies holding valid licenses for producing packaged drinking water are increasingly choosing not to renew their licences.
The illegal companies are giving stiff competition to established brands like Bisleri, Kinley, Aquafina and Kingfisher, which mostly produce one or two-litre bottles for retail. Small players deliver 20 litre water cans, a different product category, and have a greater reach.
Non-licensed companies are not subject to mandatory inspections by the Bureau of India Standards, the licencing authority, and do not have to employ quality control experts. “We regularly check the standards of products of the licensed companies, but we do not have authority to take action on the non-licensed ones,” said Rama Krishna Rao, in-charge (water) BIS Telangana. More than a dozen of the 128 companies with ISI licences to manufacture packaged drinking water in AP and TS have not renewed their licenses.
To apply for a license, they have to maintain production and hygienic standards including labs and staff. While it takes Rs 20-25 lakh of investment to run a licensed company, a non-licensed packaged drinking water company needs just Rs 1.5-2 lakh. And there is no proper monitoring system to check on the non-licensed packaged drinking companies.
( Source : dc correspondent )
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