Kochi Corporation, Kudumbashree to sell purified water

KOCHI: The Kochi Corporation with the support of State Women’s Development Corporation and Kudumbasree Mission has made a foray into drinking water bottling and distribution controlled by corporates. Under the project named ‘Kochi Water’, the corporation with the support of Kudumbasree has started selling purified packaged drinking water.

For the city residents who spend Rs 50 for 20-litres purified water, ‘Kochi Water’ will be a big relief as Kudumbasree will provide bottles at only Rs 20. “It is a novel concept which assumes significance especially in water-scarce cities like Kochi. Water treated using premium technology is being sold at a highly subsidised rate,” said T.K. Jose, the principal secretary of the local-self government department.

‘Kochi Water’ will be the purest among the brands as water drawn from well is passing through seven stages of purification. “The fully automated plant at Fort Kochi can treat an average 1000 litre per day and the maximum capacity of the tank is 20, 000 litres. The water samples are being sent to the regional analytical laboratory, Kakkanad every fortnight to check its quality,” said Anoop Menon, who is in charge of the plant.

Five Kudumbasree workers are engaged in the distribution in city areas. “At present, we supply mainly to houses. But there are orders from offices and commercial firms. The initial amount for a bottle is Rs 400, and the refilling cost is only Rs 20. At present, we are supplying 100 to 150 bottles per day,” said Bindu S., group leader.

“Division councillor Sheeba Lal has given us maximum support in putting the project on track. Though the revenue is small now, the project aims at an average income of Rs 800 for five of us,” added Sheeba Jeevan. Mary Joseph, Soumya Sunil and Shalini Shaji are other members of the group.

Though the civic body has invested Rs 25 lakh on the plant, it was the Kudumbasree workers who shelled out Rs 7.63 lakh for purchasing the vehicle, bottles and other materials needed for supply. The Women’s Development Corporation is operating the facility for the civic body. A similar plant is operating at Edappally, and a few others are in the pipeline.