Minister absent, no talks, HC hearing today

The office bearers of the Tamil Nadu Packaged Drinking Water Manufacturers’ Association planned to meet Municipal Administration Minister, SP Velumani on Monday but the meeting got cancelled at the last minute with the latter caught up in some urgent work.

“We have been trying to meet the Minister since Saturday to put forth our demands but we could not meet him. Since our case is coming up for hearing in the Madras High Court on Tuesday, we will meet him later,” said A Shakespeare, president, Greater Tamil Nadu Packaged Drinking Water Manufacturers’ Association.

The strike call was given after the court’s recent directive to close borewells from where some units are extracting water without obtaining NOC. 

Shakespeare said that they were demanding the state government to regularise all those units which were set up before 2014 and functioning without the no objection certificate. 

Across the State, there are totally 584 packaged drinking units have no objection certificate while over 1000 units which have FSSAI license but did not have NOCs.  He said that there are 91 packaged drinking water units in Chennai but no action was being taken on them yet.

A packaged water unit owner said that the short supply of the water cans in the city was mainly due to the fear that the units were functioning only during the day-time over the fear of official action.

K Saravanan, who lives alone at Perambur said that he was taking three bottles of water from his office to his home in the wake of the unavailability of the water can. 

“I have asked my regular supplier to provide a water can and promised to pay double or triple the amount but he said that he didn’t get fresh supply at all for the last two days,” he said.

A total of 37 can water suppliers functioning illegally in Vellore district were sealed by officials of Public Works Department (Ground Water Division) based on their investigations, said Collector A Shanmuga Sundaram on Monday.

While 29 units were closed down on Sunday, another 8 units were sealed on Monday. “Only 3 units in the district are functioning with proper sanction,” said Shanmuga Sundaram.

The closure of water units and the ongoing strike by private water suppliers may not affect many households in Vellore like households in Chennai due to the availability of water provided by the local body, the Corporation officials said. 

“We provide a daily supply of 60 MLD (Million Litres Daily) which amounts to a per capita supply of 115 litres per head,” officials said.

Meanwhile, in Tiruchy, Members of Packaged Drinking Water Supply Workers Association (PDWSWA) who staged a protest here submitted a petition to the District Collector demanding a guarantee for their livelihood as more than 10,000 workers were dependent on the water units.

After as many as 23 units, out of the 30 functioning in Tiruchy district were sealed by the PWD on Saturday for functioning without required clearances and license for the past few years based on the direction of the Madras High Court to shut down the illegally functioning packaged water units across the State.

According to the PDWSWA members, they lost their livelihood and they knew no other trade as they have been leading their lives with these units. 

“Since the shutting down of the units, we have all become jobless overnight and more than 75 per cent of the units in Tiruchy are closed,” said N Hemanathan, Secretary, PDWSWA who led the protest. 

They said that more than 80 per cent of drinking water supply has been affected in the city and the impact would be learnt only after a few days.

Later, they submitted a petition with the District Collector S Sivarasu stating that more than 10,000 labourers had lost their livelihood and sought a solution either by opening the closed units or assisting them with an alternate employment to help them earn their daily bread.