KOCHI: A few days back, Priya, an advocate who stays in a flat near the High Court, faced a water shortage issue in her place. A tanker lorry was called to supply water. She was shocked to see the colour of the water that was supplied by the tanker lorry.
“It was dark brown. At first glance, it was difficult to believe that this water was safe to drink, “she said. Though the tanker lorry had sufficient certificates and licences from the food safety department, there was nothing to verify the quality of the water.
Thankfully, her flat has a water purifier for her to not worry much about. But this is a serious issue faced by many in the city. The safety of the water sourced from other than the Kerala water authority hydrants is unknown.
The water shortage will worsen once the summer peaks, resulting in high demand for tanker lorry supply.
“The concerned food safety officer at their circle will ensure the safety of potable water reaching there.
“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 for potable water in tanker lorries has increased,” said Alex Issac, assistant food commissioner, Thiruvananthapuram.
An official at the FSSAI in Kochi said that last year, an initiative under the district administration and based on a suggestion by the Kerala Legislative Assembly Committee on Petitions, the project Operation Pure Water was launched. However, the drive failed as the Kerala Water Authority’s hydrants were not sufficient to meet the demand.
“Under the drive, it was directed that tanker lorries could only collect water from the hydrants of KWA to ensure good quality of water transported,” said Ali of Green Aqua Supplies, based out of Edappally. Later, the previous collector gave the order to source water from private agencies we used to collect, to fill the demand gap, “he added.
“The district administration’s order to source water from authorised suppliers is there. 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 NP, assistant commissioner, food and safety, Kochi.
“Several cases have been registered in the court questioning our methodologies adapted to verify the safety of the drinking water because drinking water doesn’t come under food safety standards. “The court observed that FSSAI’s standards cannot measure it,” said an FSSAI official in Kochi.