March 22: The Chennai corporation is planning to impose a total ban on sale of drinking water packets within city limits.

This will address wide concerns about consumption of unsafe drinking water in the city and also curb the operation of illegal water purifying units.

Ripon Building sources said that the corporation was likely to discuss the issue in its ensuing council meet. In the last five months about 1.70 lakh water packets that were not safe for consumption were seized from different parts of the city by the health department.

Most of them did not have manufacturing and expiry date and were unsafe as they were exposed to sun before being sold. Worse is the case of cool drinks sold in sachets in which artificial sweeteners are used.
“The ban can be imposed under the Public Health Act and is meant to regulate the sale of unsafe food products,” said a corporation official. “It will also help to reduce the plastic waste generated in the city and will improve the free flow of drains during monsoon.”

It may be noted that the opposition floor leader in the corporation, Mr Saidai P. Ravi, and noted environmentalists have been demanding a total ban on the sale of drinking water packets for the last several years.