TIRUCHY: The quest for packaged drinking water may not come to an end soon as several units which were closed during the recent drive opted not to apply for no-objection certificates (NOCs).
According to PWD sources, seven of the 23 packaged drinking water units that were shut in the district applied for renewal of NOCs as on Wednesday. Following an order from Madras High Court, a packaged drinking water scare rocked Tiruchy district as 23 out of 31 units were sealed. To handle the situation, the court directed licences be given to those units with proper documents in the next 15 days. The situation may not improve as very few units have turned up.
A major reason cited for units not approaching the PWD is they fear they would be unable to meet the guidelines set by the department for licenses.
“While the direction is a temporary relief, we are unsure whether NOCs would be issued to us. The norms are very stringent and the groundwater table near our extraction wells has depleted drastically over the years. We do not want to apply for a NOC and then get rejected,” said a distributor from Tiruchy.
A few facilities are looking out for alternative sites to establish their extraction units. “Though we have valid documents and been extracting from the same place for a long time, we fear our renewal application would be rejected. Because the water level in our area turned critical from safe. We are searching for good places to set up bore wells. Though we may miss the deadline, it is a more prudent option,” said a distributor from Kattur.
On the other hand, units awaiting the nod are trying not to lose customers and are supplying water cans filled from units which are legal.
Madhavan, a distributor waiting for a NOC, said, “We have started losing many customers as the public are reaching out to units which have permissions. We are trying to maintain marginal supply by collecting water from various units which are functioning. The further the delay, the worse our livelihood would be hit. We hope approval for the renewal applications is fast-tracked.”