50 Vendors Fined By SCR For Selling Camouflaged Bottled Water

Hyderabad: For selling inferior quality bottled drinking water as many as 50 catering stalls and vendors were imposed fine and warnings were issued by the South Central Railway (SCR).

As part of nine-day long Swachhta Saptah under the ‘Swachh Rail Swachh Bharat Mission’ being carried out from September 17-25 across the zone, checks were done at 153 stations and 12 trains.

Almost all water packets tested had unpurified water and many water bottles too did not have purified water. Most of these vendors were operating at stations in twin cities. They were given a warning and told to mend their ways, apart from imposing a fine of Rs 50,000 plus. In case of a repeat offence, we will blacklist them

153 officials from the SCR zone were involved in conducting tests of PH levels, total dissolved solids (TDS) level and residual chlorine levels in water as well as littering around taps and RO plants.

“Almost all water packets tested had unpurified water and many water bottles too did not have purified water. Most of these vendors were operating at stations in twin cities. They were given a warning and told to mend their ways, apart from imposing a fine of Rs 50,000 plus. In case of a repeat offence, we will blacklist them” said a senior official.

As part of the drive, checks were conducted on quality of drinking water, anti-littering and general cleanliness standards in stations and trains.

“804 persons were booked in anti-littering drive conducted at 71 stations and an amount of Rs 1.59 lakh was collected during the drive,” said the concerned authorities.

Meanwhile, Rs 6.5 lakh was collected through fines primarily for littering from 3,215 people, who were booked in the last four days.