Hyderabad: Thanks to the huge demand for safe drinking water, the illegal mineral water or packaged drinking water business is thriving with mineral water plants in slums and on the outskirts of the city pumping ground water illegally.
Meanwhile, there are no proper systems in place to regularly check the standards of the water and also the illegal pumping of groundwater as per the AP Water and Land Trees Act.
While there is a ban in place on commercial pumping of groundwater, there are over 3,500 mineral water plants thriving in and around the city, blatantly pumping out water from the ground. There are about 400 plants in Toli Chowki, Langer Houz, Mehdipatnam, Golconda and other parts of the old city.
“Mining of water is illegal in areas that are marked as dark areas where the groundwater level has come down. Borewells should not be drilled at less than a gap of 500 meters as per the AP Walta Act,” said an environmentalist associated with the AP Pollution Control Board.
Section 8 of the Walta Act states that every borewell or well should be registered with the municipal administration in the city or gram panchayat in the village. Also, wherever water pumping is likely to cause damage to the groundwater and other natural resources, the concerned authority should prohibit water pumping.
However, the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation does not have any data on the mineral water plants registered with them. To set up a mineral water plant, one needs an investment of about Rs 20-25 lakh if the enterprise goes for an ISO certification and other permits. However, most of the firms do not go for these certifications. Without the required permits, it takes about Rs 3-Rs 4 lakh to set up a plant.
“If one goes for ISI certification, then the standard monitoring team comes every two months for checks. Besides, there are certain mandatory conditions to follow. For example, a minimum plant area must be 300 sq. yards and the plant must have separate rooms for filtration and hygiene procedures,” said Kishore, who owns a mineral water plant at Medchal.
Most of the mineral water plants are set up in single houses or in agriculture lands illegally. However, consumers do not usually bother with ISI marks. For an illegal mineral water business, every 20 litres will cost Rs 3-Rs 4, while it is sold for anywhere between Rs 25 and Rs 30. Meanwhile, the ones with ISI marks are sold at Rs 45-50 and the branded ones are sold at Rs 65-80.
Next: Bacteria in 80% water plant samples
Bacteria in 80% water plant samples
Kaniza Garari |?DC
Hyderabad: Food inspectors have warned that bacterial contamination is rampant in packaged water. Eighty per cent of the samples tested from mineral water treatment plants have confirmed the presence of bacteria. The samples were randomly picked from manufacturing units and tested in private laboratories.
The presence of bacteria in the water is classified as sub-standard and attracts a penalty from the Food Controller under the Food Safety and Standard Act 2006. The presence of E.coli bacteria and harmful chemicals in water calls for severe action under the Act wherein legal action is taken against the firm.
Deputy food controller K.N. Swaroop said, “At present, only random checking is done due to a shortage of food inspectors. Also, those who feel that the water isn’t proper, are bringing the samples to our office for testing.”
The over-dependency on packaged water is proving to be fatal for people, claim experts. Chief water analyst B. Anjaneyulu said, “Drinking water must have Total Dissolvable Solids (TDS) like calcium, magnesium, nitrate, fluoride, chloride and hardness. These must be in the level of 500 milligram per litre to 2,000 milligram per litre.
TDS are required for teeth, bones and other organs. However, in packaged water, TDS are sometimes less than 50 milligrams, which is not good for the body.” Purifying water to check bacterial infection is acceptable, but removing all required nutrients in this process lowers immunity.
Anjaneyulu added, “Reverse osmosis for the drinking water from Krishna or Manjeera isn’t needed. The RO process for treated drinking water reduces its quality. We have been regularly conducting workshops to explain these facts to doctors. Purifying drinking water for bacterial infection through boiling, alum or simple filters is fine as it helps to check infection.”
The problem is that the outskirts of the city, like Ranga Reddy district, Cyberabad and Hitec City areas get drinking water only twice a week. The pipelines are empty and often infested with dust particles and fine soil due to which the water is muddy for the first 10 minutes. This has been one of the major reasons for citizens to opt for purifiers and reverse osmosis.
A senior Water Board official said, “This is a problem as the pipes are empty most of the time. There are tiny pores in the pipes due to wear and tear and through these, dust and fine particles of sand seep in. But the quality of treated water is not affected in any way.”
Next: Exposure leads to infections
Exposure leads to infections
Hyderabad: Switching to different types of drinking water can cause throat and stomach infections. This problem is largely seen among people who travel frequently or who are engaged in outdoor work.
Experts say that water is sometimes treated too strongly, thereby reducing the level of minerals. A senior water department officer explained, “When the levels of minerals are reduced, the water tastes sweet and people think that they are drinking good water, which is not the case.”
Dr D. Nageshwar Reddy, chairman and chief of gastroenterology, Asian Institute of Gastroenterology, said, “For everyday use, distilled water or demineralised water can be unhealthy over a period of time. It has negative effects on the teeth, bones and other bodily processes. But with insufficient scientific evidence, it is not clear what the real benefits or hazards are.”
The problem, said Dr Reddy, is the longer storage period and the high temperatures to which water is exposed, allowing micro-organisms to grow at an abnormally high rate. He said, “Control of materials used in containers and sealing of bottled water is a special concern. These materials and the method of cleaning after a single use needs to be effectively monitored. The handling process is also very important as unclean hands are a source of frequent infections.”
Medical experts state that boiling and reverse osmosis are the easiest and best methods to purify water. But in reverse osmosis, the carbon filters must be good so that the contaminants are removed properly. After purifying water, it is very important to store it in a hygienic container.
