Hyderabad: The Bureau of Indian Standards have started raiding the illegal water packing units in the city, that have been unscrupulously using ISI mark on the water which they have been dispensing amongst people of both the States. Said Mr Sakuram G, senior enforcement director with Bureau of Indian Standards, “There are only 124 water packaging units with proper ISI licence from the Bureau of Indian Standards, and there are about 500 illegal water packing units in the State of Telangana.”
The official also said that checking the packaging of bottles of 20 litres, 1 litre, 500 ml and 300 ml did not come under mandatory certification by the Bureau of Indian Standards and this was one of the major reasons which gave scope to the miscreants to misuse the bottles and jars.
The miscreants operated such networks from small places, mainly small units in rural areas, where nobody can track them. This made it all the more difficult for the officials. Sometimes the offenders put up an RO plant at their homes and started the business. The miscreants ensured that they had ISI tags on the jars, to attract more customers and create a buzz.
The officials explained, “Generally water which has ISI mark undergoes seven stages of testing, which includes Aerobic Microbiological count at 20 degree Celsius, Aerobic Microbiological count at 37 degree Celsius, Ecolifum bacterial testing, Pseudomonas bacterial testing, Yeast and Mould bacterial testing and Anaerobic Bacterial testing, and the entire process takes about five days for its completion. Pure water which is safe for drinking is colourless, odourless, with minimum salt and chemical content which is receptive by the human body.”
Every water bottle which is out in the market for the consumption of the local people has to be ISI marked and should be certified by Bureau of Indian Standards as per the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry of Central Government.
Ameer Uz Zaman, Head of BIS for Telangana said, “The biggest source of menace for illegal water packing is with the 20-litre jar. People obtain these jars with ISI mark from the market and fill them up with water which is not tested in our lab and sell it to the people at cheaper rates. The common man has to understand the source from where the water is coming. The one which they are buying at a cheaper rate can cause health hazards like kidney stones, diarrhoea and porosity in bones.”
There are instances where we have found cyanide content in the local water which is supplied in jars."
Centre lists 300 items for ISI certification from BSI
The Quality Control order along with Industrial Policy and Promotion under the ministry of commerce of Central government has released a list of 300 items which should go for ISI certification, and the Bureau of Indian Standards is still waiting gazetted notification from the government for this.
Some of the items include ballasted LED lamps for general lighting services, rubber hose for liquified petroleum for industries, rubber hose for liquified petroleum for domestic use, room air conditioners, finned type heat exchanger for room air conditioner, domestic gas stoves for use with liquefied petroleum gases and others.
