At least 12 unauthorised water supply businesses were found in Khadki by Mirror, such as Samriddhi (L) and Standard Aqua (R); they charge Rs 50 for 20-litre containers, but usually only supply 17 or so litres;
Suppliers charging cheap for drinking water have no nod from FSSAI, BIS or any other authority. They run business from home, risking lives of thousands
As the summer heat rises, the need to keep hydrated is on everyone’s mind. Unfortunately, there’s a new and alarming twist to this tale — a large number of illegal and unaccounted water purifying stations have been found to be mushrooming around the city, posing a threat to tens of thousands of people.
In Khadki alone, Mirror went on ground only to find close to 12 such water purification plants running without licences from any authority, including mandatory nods from the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), or even the state’s medical and health department.
These packaged drinking water hubs are supplying a vital resource across areas of Pune and minting heavy profits from these sales. They charge Rs 50 per container, which they claim is 20 litres in volume. However, customers are cheated on this front as well, since the containers actually only support around 17 litres of water.
What is even more surprising is the fact that many of these sellers have installed the water purifying apparatus at their homes itself with impunity, from where they vend it out in large numbers via vans.
When Mirror paid a surprise visit to some such outlets in Khadki, it was found that the quality of the containers in which water is supplied is absolutely filthy, and looks like it is hardly ever cleaned. One such seller was identified as Sanjay Gupta, whose water containers bear the name Samriddhi Water Suppliers. “We are the only suppliers around and get our water from another company in the Diggi area. We charge Rs 50 per container,” he said.
Questioned about the clean factor and required licences, Gupta said, “The quality of our water is absolutely fine, as we use chlorination and filtration processes. We don’t have any licenses but the company we get water from probably has them. We have not obtained licences from FSSAI or BIS yet, but rest assured the quality of water is unquestionable.”
Another seller, Firoz Khan, who runs Standard Aqua in the area, has set up a plant by digging a borewell in his house. He, too, says his water is fit for drinking, but has not approached the FSSAI or BIS for licences “yet”. “Our water is pure and safe for all. We have fitted a water filtration plant here in my home,” said Khan.
Asked if he knows that setting up of commercial spaces in homes is illegal and whether he fears the law, he confidently said, “Sir, idhar sab chalta hai (everything goes here). No one ever comes to visit. We had set up the business two years ago.”
Meanwhile, local residents had complained to the Khadki Cantonment Board (KCB) early last month regarding this issue, but no action has been taken till date. “We had written to the cantonment board in March about the issue of illegal water supply from our area, and the fact that this threatens the life of citizens because there are no standard procedures followed. After there was no action on our previous complaints, we submitted another one just this Tuesday,” said Prabhakar Ashok Polkam, a resident of Khadki who has filed a complaint.
The authorities, on the other hand, seem to just be waking up to this flourishing flow of unchecked drinking water. Speaking to Mirror, Sanjay Naragude, assistant commissioner of Pune’s Food and Drug Administration (FDA), assured that if this water is packaged, action will definitely be taken. “If the water is being sold in bottles, we can crack down on them. Retailing packaged drinking water requires licences from BIS and FSSAI, without which it absolutely cannot be sold.”
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