BIS, Chennai, has increased its surveillance of packaged drinking water units in and around Chennai

To assure quality, the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) in Chennai has increased the frequency of 'raids' and its monitoring of packaged drinking water units in and around Chennai. In the previous year, there were 24 'raids' in the city. According to BIS officials, around 1,691 factory inspections were conducted last year, with over 3,528 samples of various items evaluated. In addition, market surveillance has been increased by 150% in the previous year. The number of raids and sample removals in packaged drinking water units has increased by roughly 10%.

Even though Metro water has stabilised its piped water supply in many areas of the city, packaged drinking water is still widely utilised by many business and home consumers. Every day, the city uses roughly 1.1 million litres of bottled drinking water.

According to officials, BIS has issued 725 permits for such private water packaging businesses to operate in and around the city. In the previous two years, there has been no increase in the number of applications for packaged drinking water manufacturing permits. However, the number of complaints concerning ISI mark breaches has grown.

In the last year, BIS has increased its inspection activities to verify compliance with different quality control requirements. It is also based on complaints received through the BISCare app, which has given customers with a dependable grievance redressal system, according to authorities.

G. Bhavani, head of the BIS's Chennai branch office, stated that on average, the BIS receives 12 licencing applications every month. Three of them were for bottled drinking water. The teams found that most of the units that were raided either functioned without a valid licence or had issues with the quality of the product. BIS has issued 1,384 licences for a variety of items. When a sample fails to meet quality guidelines, Ms. Bhavani says, further samples are taken from the same water unit at regular intervals to check the quality.