NAGPUR : The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Nagpur division, has sent closure notices to about seven units of the region, selling unpackaged drinking water without mandatory licenses. Last week, FDA had raided these units on the directives of FDA commissioner Harshdeep Kamble.
FDA assistant food commissioner of Nagpur division Milind Deshpande, who is also holding additional charge of rural, said that these units are now prohibited from selling drinking water. "Action has been taken under section 36 of Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006," Deshpande added.
The seven units include three from Nagpur and two in Bhandara and Gadchiroli each. The food safety officers of Bhandara and Gadchiroli divisions were called to Nagpur and handed over the notices. "If the units continue to sell water despite notices, matter will go for adjudication," Deshpande said.
FDA will continue raiding more such units in the coming weeks. On September 6, 2016, TOI was the first to expose the shocking conditions in which the 'potable water' was being stored and transported. The units were running without licenses from the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) or Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), which are mandatory for selling packaged drinking water.
The ministry of health and family welfare, through a notification issued on November 15, 2016, has made it mandatory to sell packaged drinking water in sealed containers. Following this, Kamble issued directions for inspecting all such units in the entire state.
On the other hand, members of RO chilled water manufacturers welfare association recently staged a protest under the leadership of youth Congress leader Bunty Shelke. Stating that many women and handicapped people are running these units for livelihood, they demanded allotment of licenses by FDA.
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