Demand for packaged water rises

SHIMLA: Scarcity of drinking-water in Shimla, has led to an increase in the demand for packaged water here.

“The demand for packaged water has risen by almost 70% in the last one week,” said Jasbir Singh, 65, who runs a wholesale business of cold drinks and packaged water at the main cart road in Shimla. “Usually the water demand rises in summers but this time it was unprecedented. It is the worst water-crisis, I have seen in my life,” Jasbir said.

“I supplied about 400 cases (one case has 12 bottles of one litre each) and now I am selling around 700 cases daily but still the demands are not met,” he added.

“Demand for packaged water has jumped significantly. Earlier we only got orders from restaurants and retailers, but now people are approaching us directly,” said Ishan Khanna, a wholesaler at Lower Bazaar area.

We prefer using packaged water as we are unsure about the purity of water that is being supplied through the tankers, said Gaurav Kumar, a resident of Vikasnagar locality in Chotta Shimla.

Radha Devi, a resident of Panthaghatti, said her family used tanker supply for washing school uniforms of her children while her family used packaged water for drinking.

The residents are also using disposable paper plates and glasses in order to save water utilised for washing utensils. “There is no water to drink, one cannot even think about washing utensils,” said Rohit Kumar, a resident of Vikasnagar locality.

“Earlier we use to sell 20 to 30 packets of disposable glasses in a day, now sales have increased to 1,000 packets a day,” said Mahesh Shridhar, a wholesaler at the Ganj Bazaar.