Bottled water price not hiked, clarifies KBWA

Kochi, 12th March 2013: The Kerala Bottled Water
Manufacturers’ Association (KBWA) reiterated on Monday that
its members were still selling bottled waters at Rs.15 a litre.
KBWA was responding to the news item, appearing in a section
of the media, that the price of bottled water in the state has
been revised upward.
“It’s a false. We’d earlier standardized the price of bottled water
in the interest of consumers. We’ve not increased the price of
bottled water”, KBWA president M.E.Mohamed clarified.
He said the clarification was being issued in the interest of
consumers. “We don’t want the consumers to pay more or get
cheated.They should know that there’s not been any price
increase”, Mohamed said.
He also questioned the Groundwater Department’s recent
warning to the bottled water manufacturers in the state to cut
the production by 50 per cent.
“Groundwater Department asked us to cut the production by
50 per cent based on a recommendation from Disaster
Management Department or face closure. It’s not the right thing
to do”, Mohamed pointed out.
According to him, the state is reeling under drought and people
running from pillar to post for potable water. This being the
scene, it’s not right on the part of Groundwater Department to
insist on a production cut.
“It’ll add to drinking water scarcity. Such a situation could be
exploited by unscrupulous players to hike the price of bottled
water”, Mohamed cautioned.
The Groundwater Department order, according to him, will very
badly hit the flat-dwellers of Ernakulam, Thiruvananthapuram
and Kozhikode, a majority of who depend on bottled water.
If the Groundwater Department remains adamant, drinking
water would become a dream for many, Mohamed cautioned.