Six packaged water supply plants sealed in Guntur after diarrhoea outbreak

Water found unfit for consumption; corporation collects samples from all private plants, begins repairs of public pipelines

Guntur Municipal Corporation authorities sealing private water plants in the city, in the wake of a diarrhoea outbreak. | Photo Credit: T. Vijay Kumar

The Guntur Municipal Corporation on Monday sealed six private reverse osmosis-cum-packaged water supply plants in the city, in the wake of a diarrhoea outbreak in which one died and more than 100 were hospitalised on February 9.

The move came on the orders of Municipal Corporation Commissioner Keerthi Chekuri, after water samples from these plants tested unfit for consumption.

Officials from the health department, the planning department of the corporation as well as police personnel were present during the sealing operation.

These plants are located at Sarada Colony, Srinagar, Kakumanuvari Thota, IPD Colony and NGO Colony, from where the highest number of diarrhoea patients reported at the Government General Hospital in Guntur. 

The units are Sai Flavoured Water located at Srinagar, Blue Drops at Kakumanuvari Thota, Sri Tejasri Purified Drinking Water at Sarada Colony, Lilly Mineral Waters and Anuradha Water Plant at IPD Colony, and Sapthagiri Enterprises in NGO Colony, Ms. Chekuri said.

Guntur District Collector M. Venugopal Reddy also instructed the Commissioner to take serious action against the water plants, which have been supplying poor quality water to consumers. 

All the water samples were tested at government laboratories in Guntur. According to the findings from the Directorate of IPM PH Labs Food (H) Administration, Mangalagiri in Guntur district, all the six private plants did not maintain pH values between 6.5 and 8.5, which is prescribed for consumption. 

The water samples of Anuradha plant had a pH value of 5.8, Lilly Mineral Waters 5.9, Sapthagiri Enterprises 5.9, Sai Flavoured Water 5.9 and Blue Drops 5.9. “The water being supplied from these plants is not fit for drinking as the pH values are below the desirable limits,” says the laboratory report. 

Reports awaited

There are a total of 151 private water plants in the Guntur city limits and the GMC has collected samples from all these plants. They are awaiting laboratory reports on some more plants. 

The corporation has also collected water samples from public pipelines, main supply points and overhead water tanks, and the results are awaited. 

Apart from this, the corporation has started repairing damaged pipelines and replacing old ones. 

Ms. Chekuri said the corporation had identified both authorised and unauthorised reverse osmosis (RO)/packaged water supplying private units in the city. Further action would be taken based on the reports from the field staff, she said.