Bottled water Cos’ owners called today

LAHORE: The Supreme Court Monday while hearing a suo motu case regarding selling of bottled water summoned owners of 11 mineral water manufacturing companies today (Tuesday) and warned that their non-appearance would result in their names being put on the ECL.

A two-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar took up a suo motu case pertaining to selling of bottled water by extracting groundwater without paying any charges and its fitness for human consumption.

The chief justice showed anger after advocate Aitzaz Ahsan counsel for Nestle Company suggested that the case be heard after the top judge returns from a scheduled trip to the United Kingdom. Aitzaz had proposed the court set November 30 as the date for the next hearing. The CJ responded: “Do you want me to compromise on public importance issue and leave for my visit to the UK? Are those people (company owners) who are selling dirty water entitled to forgiveness?” Justice Ijazul Ahsan, other member of the bench, regretted that these bottled water selling companies had been earning billions of rupees but they had no water testing laboratory.

Meanwhile, a report submitted by Environment Protection Agency disclosed that the bottled water companies had been extracting underground water worth Rs9 million per hour in main cities of Punjab including Lahore and Sheikhupura. It said the companies had no laboratory to analyse fitness of the underground water for human consumption. There is no certified method to assess the quality of water, it said, adding that only Qarshi has a certified laboratory.

It further said the companies had no mechanism to identify minerals and in the water. The report confirmed that the underground water being extracted and used by the companies contained fluoride and arsenic. The report also highlighted that none of the other companies are aware of what is in the water that they extract from the ground.