A package with add-ons

Recent incident of a tadpole in a bubbletop can brings into question quality of retailed water

With Chennai Metrowater increasingly unable to meet the demand of the expanding city, packaged drinking water helps bridge the gap. However, there are questions over the quality of some of the water sold.

The proliferation of unlicensed packaged drinking water units in the city’s fringes often leads to supply of poor quality water. Recently, a family in suburban Madambakkam were in for a shock when they found a dead tadpole inside a bubbletop can. The can was sealed with a cap, and had the mandatory details of brand name, batch number, and date of packing affixed.

The company owner agreed to replace the water can, but only after a series of calls. Speaking to The Hindu, the owner of the packaged water firm said they would put stringent measures in place to ensure that such an incident did not take occur again.

Though a stray incident, it brings into question the quality of retailed water in the city. Despite regular checks by government officials, the growing demand for packaged drinking water has led to the mushrooming of illegal manufacturing units. “The demand for packaged water has increased due to poor quality of groundwater, and dwindling supply of Palar water,” said L. Sundararaman, a resident of Chitlapakkam.

While packaged water products need to carry an ISI mark, complaints are registered with the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), Southern Region. Officials of BIS said they receive 15 complaints in a year.

“But, these mostly relate to substandard quality, stench and suspended particles in water. We have not received any complaints about dead insects or tadpoles found in water, so far,” said an official.

In the past one year, BIS officials have conducted nearly 20 raids and cancelled the licences of three units for misuse of the ISI mark. “It is important that the seal is intact. Consumers should also get a bill. Once the complaint is lodged, we will take a sample. When the fault is proven, until it is corrected, the manufacturer cannot use the ISI mark. They may even lose their licence,” a BIS official said.

Officials of Tamil Nadu food safety and drug administration department (food safety wing) said manufacturing units are instructed to affix a seal of their brand on the caps of 20-litre cans.

Consumer activist T. Sadagopan pointed out there were no checks on water sachets sold at crowded places such as bus terminuses and railway stations. Testing of water and food products for quality needed to be done at the district level to tackle the problem of fake products, he added.