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Drinking water units across State announce indefinite strike
Residents of Chennai who are dependent on the bubbletop can packaged water will have to look for alternate sources, as the packaged drinking water manufacturing associations in the State have gone on an indefinite strike from Thursday.
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Chennai
V Murali, the leader of the Greater Tamil Nadu Packaged Drinking Water Manufacturing Units Association, said they were forced to take the step after the Madras High Court issued an order banning the extraction of groundwater by six industries. “We are extracting groundwater only for drinking purpose. Even during the times of drought, we supplieddrinking water.
We sought exemption, but the court declined. So we stopped production from Thursday evening,” Murali said. He urged the State government to intervene in the matter and issue suitable orders allowing extraction of groundwater for drinking purpose.
Apart from the Greater Tamil Nadu Packaged Drinking Water Manufacturing Units Association, two other associations in the State have also announced a strike. This is sure to affect the residents and commercial establishments in the city, most of whom are almost completely dependent on packaged water, especially with the summer fast approaching.
“Since I moved to the city nearly 18 months ago, I depend on can water for cooking and drinking. The water supplied by Metro Water in my area is insufficient and not good. If the strike continues, families like mine will suffer,” said M Vishnupriya, a resident of Kodambakkam. Before cracking down on packaged drinking water companies, the authorities should take steps to provide clean drinking water to the people, she added.
In all, there are around 1,400 units in the State that supply packaged drinking water. Of this, 400 are in Chennai, Kancheepuram and Tiruvallur districts. There are 95 registered bubble top water production units in Chennai, that supply more than one lakh 20-litre cans every day. To produce 20 litres of RO drinking water, treatment units require 35 litres of raw water.
HC: Will summon CS if illegal water units not shut
Slamming the report of the State Ground and Surface Water Resource Data regarding closure of illegal units exploiting ground water report and calling it not only laconic but also meaningless, the Madras High Court has warned of summoning the Chief Secretary if all the illegal units functioning in the State are not closed by March 3.
The division bench comprising Justice Vineet Kothari and Justice R Suresh Kumar issued the warning after finding from the report that only on February 24, out of 261 units in the 32 districts, only 13 units have been closed for want of valid licence while action has been recommended against 132 units. Moreover, about 116 units, it has been merely stated ‘applied for renewal,’ the bench said.
Also, noting that except for a very minor compliance apparently made as a cosmetic response to the court directions, the bench said, “The compliance in the form of constitution of District Monitoring Committees as directed by the single judge shows the patch up work done by various authorities of the State to constitute these Monitoring Committees only in the last week of February 2020, even though the directions were given way back in 2018.” Meanwhile, residents of Chennai who are dependent on the bubbletop can packaged water will have to look for alternative sources, as the packaged drinking water manufacturing associations in the State have gone on an indefinite strike from Thursday.
Officials would be held personally liable: HC
Turning its wrath on government officials who failed to close down illegal water packaging units, a division bench of the Madras High Court said it might initiate contempt action against them. “The lethargy, inaction and deliberate intention not to comply with the clear directions of this court is thus writ large on the various authorities of the State administration.
We take a very serious view of the matter,” the bench held, directing Collectors in whose jurisdiction even a single non-compliance was there to be present in the court without fail on March 3, adding that they would be held personally liable. It also refused to entertain applications from the persons running these units, stating that the individual cases were not being entertained at this stage deliberately because the plea is to preserve the valuable natural resource.
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