KOCHI: A few days back, Priya, an advocate who stays near the High Court, faced a water shortage in her flat. A tanker lorry was called to supply water. However, she was shocked upon seeing the colour of the water in the lorry.
“It was dark brown. At first glance, it was difficult to believe this water was safe to drink,” she said. Though the tanker lorry had the required certificates and licences from the Food Safety Department, there was no means to verify the quality of the water. She managed with the water purifier at her flat.
Tanker lorries delivering low-quality water has become a serious issue in the city. It is also not known whether the water, sourced from places other than the Kerala Water Authority hydrants, is safe to use.
The water shortage will worsen once the summer peaks, resulting in high demand for tanker lorry supply. “Food safety officer at each circle will ensure the safety of potable water reaching the area. Like last year, no norms have been issued on drinking water distribution using tankers so far. But we are expecting one in the next two to three days, as the demand has increased,” said Alex Issac, assistant food commissioner, Thiruvananthapuram. An official at FSSAI in Kochi said last year, the district administration launched a project — Operation Pure Water — based on a suggestion by the Kerala Legislative Assembly Committee on Petitions. However, the drive failed as KWA’s hydrants were not sufficient to meet the demand.
“Under the drive, tanker lorries could only collect water from the hydrants of KWA to ensure the quality of water,” said Ali of Green Aqua Supplies, based in Edappally. Later, the previous collector gave the order to source water from private agencies to fill the demand-supply gap,” he added.
“There is an existing order from district administration to source water from authorised suppliers. We had received direction from FSSAI that drinking water doesn’t fall under the food safety standard and sample testing was not allowed,” said Murali N P, assistant commissioner, food and safety, Kochi. “Several cases have been registered in court questioning our methodologies to verify the safety of drinking water because it doesn’t come under food safety standards. The court observed FSSAI’s standards could not measure it,” said an FSSAI official in Kochi.
District Collector Jafar Malik said a meeting will be held with KWA, the Food Safety Department and district administration to discuss methods to tackle water shortage. “With the rise in demand, there are possibilities that water may be procured from contaminated sources if there is no monitoring,” he said.
He also said there is no mechanism to test the water collected from private sources. “However, random testing with the help of the food safety department will be carried out,” he said. He added that any private agency found selling contaminated water will face the consequences. “Like last year, we cannot issue an order to collect water only from KWA hydrants. But we will ensure that private agencies provide safe drinking water,” Malik said.
No solution
According to the court, FSSAI’s methods to standards are not sufficient to measure the quality of the water. Now, no other means are available