Packaged water units remain shut, dealers hit hard

Balaji, a packaged drinking water supplier in Choolaimedu, said that the water purification unit in Chinmaya Nagar near Koyambedu was closed from Thursday night.

“I used to get water cans from the Chinmaya Nagar unit. The owner of the unit called me and asked to take the available water cans on Friday morning. I think it would take two to three days to get sufficient amount of water,” he said. Balaji, who has around 200 customers, mostly households in Choolaimedu area, could only manage to get 100 cans. “I have to manage with lesser water cans, and explain the situation to the regular customers who have been calling to buy available cans,” he said.

Demanding the government to regulate and license water purification units in the state, several associations of packaged drinking water production units have announced an indefinite strike from Thursday evening. The Madras High Court has ordered to shut down the units to stop illegal extraction of groundwater. In Chennai alone, there are around 95 registered bubble top water production units that produce more than one lakh cans, each with a capacity of 20 litres, every day.