Thiruvananthapuram: Many city residents are resorting to using 20-litre water dispensers, even as they have KWA connection at their homes, according to packaged water suppliers.Their residential customer base has been increasing, they claim.
There are a lot of residences which depend on water dispensers in the core city area, be it Chalai, Manacaud, Sasthamangalam, Vazhuthacaud, East Fort, Pettah, Medical College, Sreekaryam, Kazhakkoottam or Kesavadasapuram, according to Vinod Kumar V., a supplier.
He started water supply business with eight customers 12 years ago and now has more than 700 customers, many of whom are in the city. This is not a phenomenon, and only the ones who can afford packaged water have started depending on dispensers, according to former Community and Capacity Development Unit (CCDU) director V. Subhash Chandra Bose.
However, the number of people depending on dispensers could be 1 lakh, and this is because suppliers from outside Thiruvananthapuram have been selling water at cheap rates, according to Mr Kumar. The price range varies from Rs 70 to Rs 30.
"Even if they compromise on the amount of filtering, there is absolutely no way to ensure that they supply safe water," he says. But there is no reason to worry as the district's Food Safety Office has been conducting regular raids at packaged drinking water plants, says officials there. There are eight or nine packaged water plants in the district, they say.
Last month, a raid revealed that two batches did not match the quality standards and corrective measures were proposed, However, when asked if they have a way to stop and check water dispenser vehicles which come from Tamil Nadu, they say it doesn't happen.
