Though the demand for Amma drinking water has increased, the number of packs arriving daily at the new bus stand here has dwindled considerably over the past two months resulting in stocks getting exhausted by afternoon.
With packaged drinking water becoming common place and demand increasing by the day, the Amma drinking water bottles were the most sought after and enjoyed good patronage in Thanjavur.
The sales outlet near Kumbakonam bus bay usually would be bustling with activity while private shops selling cool drinks and soft drinks would witness a dull trade of mineral water.
But over the past two months, there have been complaints that Amma drinking water bottles were becoming scarce after noon and public were forced to pay more for getting other brands of packaged water. Commuters and those in transit were forced to pay through their nose for packaged drinking water carrying look alike names as well as designs of popular international brands.
While the Amma drinking water cost them just Rs. 10 a litre, other brands were sold at Rs. 20 to Rs. 25 at the bus stand as the traders fleece hapless buyers who rush out of the waiting buses to buy the water bottle and scurry to catch the leaving buses. The cost difference also pushed the demand for Amma drinking water in Thanjavur.
Inquiries at the new bus stand here revealed that till two months ago, 150 packs of 12 bottles each totalling 1,800 units arrived from Chennai Metropolitan Bus Terminus by a handful of Thanjavur-Chennai-Thanjavur services that arrive here in the morning. The stocks used to last till the evening and commuters were happy.
But now only around 1,000 units are arriving here and they last till afternoon and those approaching the outlet for bottles are returning disappointed and empty handed, sometimes throwing caustic remarks that some officials were helping private traders by restricting supplies. However, it seems the problem lay with the bus services that used to return with the consignment of bottles. The buses reach CMBT after 8 p.m. when most of the loaders there would have left leaving only a few to lift the consignment to destinations such as Thanjavur. Also, the TNSTC officials here are routing 200 to 300 units to Tiruvaiyaru daily and that too reduced the availability remarkably.
Public would be better served if the TNSTC established an Amma drinking water sales outlet in the old bus stand too where a great demand exists and ensure all its services reached CMBT in time to lift more consignments of packaged drinking water bottles.
