We must bow to the foresight of those who discovered the commercial potential of bottling water and selling it at a high price in Kerala, where there was no shortage of drinking water until ten or twelve years ago. The bottled water business was started targetting mainly the people travelling long distances in trains, but with the rapid change in the travelling habits of the Malayalees, the extreme heat that makes them feel thirsty as soon as they go out in the summer, and the changing times of facilities available to everyone, bottled water has gained tremendous popularity. It is estimated that bottled water worth two crores of rupees is sold every day in burning Kerala!

If we look at the figures for the previous months, Kerala has drunk 13 lakh litres of bottled water each day. Recognizing this market demand and revenue potential, international brands to state governments are in the market of bottled drinking water. Bottled water is priced at Rs 20 per litre.

Apart from this, larger sized jars are also available to suit the needs of families. All this combined, the annual bottled water business in the state is 300 crore rupees! Apart from well-known brands, there are brands that started as local small businesses. Strict quality standards are in place for each of the processes involved in storing, purifying, treating and bottling water. Twelve licenses are required to start a bottled water unit. However, there are also fakes in the market that do not follow any of these terms and conditions. Bottled water is an area that requires the same vigilance as checking the quality of food products. Unfortunately, that is not happening.

Hilly Aqua is a bottled water brand owned by the state government. Hilly Aqua, under the Kerala Irrigation Infrastructure Development Corporation, has manufacturing units only at Aruvikara and Thodupuzha. As for the price, it is 5 rupees less per litre than private brands. Being a government product, Hilly Aqua has good credibility and acceptance in the market. In view of the market demand, the production has now been increased. Even though the two units together produce 78,000 litres of bottled water per day, the potential of Hilly Aqua is huge in Kerala, where more than 13 lakh bottles of water are sold per day. When we know that only 40,000 liters of production per day was being done in the Hilly Aqua units till before summer, we realize that the government is moving at the speed of a turtle in an area where the public sector can work with good profit. When the production was increased, the corporation got an additional income of one crore rupees. Urgent action should be taken to increase the availability of Hilly Aqua, which has ensured quality as a government product, by establishing more bottling plants including in the Malabar region. One more will join the ranks of profitable PSUs.