Designated officers of the Food Safety and Standards (FSS) are being threatened while conducting raids at illegal units supplying packaged drinking water. Many such units run businesses in the city without obtaining the requisite certificate from the Bureau of Indian Standard (BIS).The raids followed a high court direction to close all units which have not procured BIS certificate. Owners of these units are putting up so much resistance that the raiding team members are now seeking police protection, and also carrying cameras to capture such acts as evidence.
One officer described the humiliation the team faced during a recent raid on an illegal unit in Yelahanka. “When we visited the place, the owner and employees verbally abused us. When we tried to take photos, the owner unzipped his pants and shouted at us to take his snap with pants down. We took the snap, showed them to the department, and later seized the unit. The water samples were sent to a laboratory for testing”, said Ravi Prakash, who works for FSS Bangalore Urban district.
A few days back, the officers decided to inspect some more illegal units. When they visited the places, they were shocked to find that all the units had downed their shutters.
“Somebody probably gave a tip off to the unit owners about the impending raids,” Prakash said. “Since information on raids is leaking out, we have stopped the daily raids. Instead, we will be conducting raids after a few days’ gap so that we can catch the owners when the units are open,” he said. Some of the units function only at night, he added.
Bangalore Urban district has 88 packaged drinking water units of which 43 have a BIS certificate. The remaining ones are running illegally. Two months back, these units were served with a notice. But their owners neither replied to the notices nor closed the units. Raids on illegal units can be conducted only in three of BBMP’s zones, east, west and south. Dr Shivamurthy is the lone designated officer for these zones.
According to BBMP chief health officer KE Manjula, there were five units in these zones which do not have BIS certificate. Of this, two units have been seized and the remaining ones have been served with notices.
“Most of the units which do not have BIS certificate are voluntarily closing their units. If they don’t, we will seize the units,” she said. The public can also chip in by giving information about illegal units to BBMP’s control room, she said.
One officer described the humiliation the team faced during a recent raid on an illegal unit in Yelahanka. “When we visited the place, the owner and employees verbally abused us. When we tried to take photos, the owner unzipped his pants and shouted at us to take his snap with pants down. We took the snap, showed them to the department, and later seized the unit. The water samples were sent to a laboratory for testing”, said Ravi Prakash, who works for FSS Bangalore Urban district.
A few days back, the officers decided to inspect some more illegal units. When they visited the places, they were shocked to find that all the units had downed their shutters.
“Somebody probably gave a tip off to the unit owners about the impending raids,” Prakash said. “Since information on raids is leaking out, we have stopped the daily raids. Instead, we will be conducting raids after a few days’ gap so that we can catch the owners when the units are open,” he said. Some of the units function only at night, he added.
Bangalore Urban district has 88 packaged drinking water units of which 43 have a BIS certificate. The remaining ones are running illegally. Two months back, these units were served with a notice. But their owners neither replied to the notices nor closed the units. Raids on illegal units can be conducted only in three of BBMP’s zones, east, west and south. Dr Shivamurthy is the lone designated officer for these zones.
According to BBMP chief health officer KE Manjula, there were five units in these zones which do not have BIS certificate. Of this, two units have been seized and the remaining ones have been served with notices.
“Most of the units which do not have BIS certificate are voluntarily closing their units. If they don’t, we will seize the units,” she said. The public can also chip in by giving information about illegal units to BBMP’s control room, she said.
When it comes to conducting raids, BBMP faces shortage of officers. It has only one designated officer for three zones, she said. Four officers have been suspended and the BBMP is taking the help of Bangalore Metropolitan Task Force (BMTF) police during raids. From Monday, the BBMP will launch a massive drive to find and close illegal units, she said.
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