KOCHI: Bottled water has become an essential component of modern life. It is the main source of drinking water for many among the urban community. The demand for purified bottled water has been on a steady rise in recent years.

There has been a 30 per cent increase in the packaged water supply in Ernakulam district, according to M.E. Mohammed, director of a private company manufacturing packaged drinking water. There are occasions when the supply fails to meet the demand.

Though the demand peaks during summer, there is plenty of demand during monsoon as well. The demand is bound to increase with the Government failing to supply enough of pure piped water, says Mr. Mohammed.

His company supplies 10,000 litres of purified water in jars every day in Ernakulam district. This is apart from the 5,000 litres of bottled water supplied by the company every day throughout the State, according to him.

There are about 30 licensed companies engaged in manufacturing packaged drinking water in Kerala, but there are many more unlicensed ones, according to industry sources. While the licensed manufacturers have to adhere to a series of tests and incur substantial expenditure to ensure quality, the unlicensed ones are said to be thriving at the cost of lax Government mechanism to crack down on them.

It is mandatory for bottled water units to conduct a series of tests to conform to more than 50 parameters specified by the authorities. The climate in Kerala adds to the woes of the manufacturers, as it is reportedly a difficult task to get rid of the fungi present in the humid environment.

The tax system has dealt a heavy blow to the packaged water manufacturers in Kerala, says Mr. Mohammed, who is also an office-bearer of the Federation of All India Packaged Drinking Water Manufacturers' Association. The State Government has classified the bottled drinking water under the category of luxurious items in the VAT regime, charging 20 per cent tax. No other State imposes such a high rate of tax, according to him. In the neighbouring Tamil Nadu, the tax is 10 per cent, he says.

Multinationals offer stiff competition to the packaged water manufacturers. Some of these companies allegedly indulge in unethical practices in a bid to maintain upper hand in business. The manufacturers have to guard against fraudsters who supply substandard product in empty bottles of established companies.

The consumer too has to be careful against such duplicates, says Mr. Mohammed. His company is planning to stick holograms atop the bottles in a bid to prevent fraud.

There is a heavy demand for purified water bottled in 20 litre jars, says N. Chacko, a manufacturer of bottled water, and an office-bearer of All Kerala Bottled Water Manufacturers' Association. In this category, there has been a 50 per cent rise in demand over the last year, according to him.

The affordability and convenience are reasons that attract customers. He claimed that his company distributes water conforming to ISI standards. It is priced at Rs.2 per litre.

Most of the IT companies in and around Ernakulam depend on this mode of potable water supply. About 1 lakh litres of water in bottles are being distributed in Ernakulam district every month, he says.

He is focussing on the segment as the demand is set to go up further in the coming months.

Mr. Chacko too resents imposition of high rate of tax. Water is not a luxurious item, he argues.

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