Water tankers to come under FSSAI scanner

A tanker lorry filling drinking water from well in Kozhikode city.

Quality of water used at schools and anganwadis in district also being tested

Suspecting that many of the private tankers are not supplying safe drinking water, the district office of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) is planning a drive to monitor their operations.

O. Sankaran Unni, Assistant Commissioner, FSSAI, said on Thursday that the tankers should have a licence and the licence number should be displayed on them. “Those selling drinking water should specify the source and there can’t be any compromise on quality. We are planning a drive within a couple of weeks to check the quality of water supplied through tankers,” he said.

The tanker operator should obtain a report from an authorised lab certifying the quality of the water. Documents showing the capacity of the tanker are mandatory too.

Sources in the authority said that it should be displayed in bold letters that the vehicle is being used for selling drinking water. If one person is operating more than one vehicle, the licence should have all the registration numbers. The coating in the interior of the tanker should be of permissible material, they added.

Safe-food campaign

Mr. Unni claimed that the department is checking the quality of water being distributed through the public water distribution system as part of the safe-food panchayat scheme being implemented by the government in 50 grama panchayats across the State. In Kozhikode district, the scheme is implemented in Perumanna, Edachery, Narikkuni, and Nanmanda grama panchayats.

The water being used at schools and anganwadis is being tested. Efforts are also on to create awareness among rural residents and people from different walks of life about the need to ensure water hygiene.

Asked about the follow-up of the raid on vehicles transporting 20-litre water jars in the city, Mr. Unni said that the department was yet to get the test results on the samples sent to the laboratory. “Some of the firms transporting water have urged us to give them two more weeks to follow the guidelines. By then, the results are also expected. If the water is found to be contaminated, criminal action will be taken against the firms.”