The Hindu : How pure is bottled water?

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Feb 16, 2004

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

How pure is bottled water?

Sir, _Trading of drinking water has assumed top priority and making a fast buck with minimum inputs has become a stark reality. Go to any town, even a taluk headquarter, and one comes across one or two new brands of bottled drinking water sometimes sold as pure mineral water.

Barring a few branded mineral water samples bearing ISI mark, the rest (more than 95 per cent) of the bottled water ranging from one litre to 25-litre packs, are sold in the market for fancy rates.

Thanks to our municipality and corporations, who are responsible for our urban water scarcity, many water manufacturers are in the fray doing brisk business selling water to innocent masses in different packing.

Some proudly display labels claiming that their packages contain 100 per cent pure water suitable for drinking with extra doses of health in addition.

A few manufacturers claim that the water is packed using imported technology, invariably from USA or Japan. Who is to check the quality of water?

What are the standards adopted for these so-called 100 per cent pure drinking water? How these samples are superior in quality when compared to drinking water supplied through public and private taps by our municipalities, corporations and panchayats?

G. Azeemoddin,

Anantapur

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Problems with small change

Sir, _Tendering exact change in business transactions has become a big problem with the 5 paise, 10 paise and 20 paise coins going out of circulation. These days even 25 paise coins face a problem. No grocer or shopkeeper is accepting 25 paise coins in our area saying that they are no more a legal tender. If true, then it is a big blow for money-dealing transactions. It is going out of use slowly and this has only compounded the plight of people, especially the older generation, who have great regard for money and demand exact change. The authorities concerned should come out with a clear statement immediately putting all doubts at rest.

E. Udaya Kumar,

Tadipatri

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Open a branch hospital

Sir, _There is only one Government Hospital at the farthest southern end of Guntakal for a population of nearly 2 lakh. Satyanarayanapet is on the northern end of the town, which is thickly populated consisting of the working class, middle-class, senior citizens etc. For any minor or major medical need people have to cover a distance of nearly 2 km to the Government Hospital or to the Railway Hospital incurring heavy expenditure on autorickshaws. Even for a regular blood pressure check-up people have to go a long way either to a private practitioner or to the Government Hospital. Hence, it is requested that the Government open a branch hospital in Satyanarayanapet to cater to the needs of people in general and senior citizens in particular.

R. Dwarakanatha Rao,

Guntakal

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Vegetarian diet

good for health

Sir, _A vegetarian diet is favourable for robust health and strength. A vegetarian diet comprising of wheat, rice, grains, peas, beans, nuts etc., is more than 10 times economical compared to non-vegetarian diet.

A vegetarian diet is pure and good and helps control the appetite and passions. A vegetarian diet helps the mind remain fresh, because a flesh diet favours indolence, sleepiness, obesity, indigestion, constipation and other problems. The digestive organs are not well suited to non-vegetarian consumption.

A great deal of meat, which is supplied, is already diseased because it is near impossible to know if the meat is free from germs. A strict vegetarian diet would greatly help ward off several diseases. More so it is awfully cruel to kill tens of thousands of animals for human food. God disapproves of cruelty whether man or beast.

M. Satyanarayana Rao,

Hanamkonda

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Andhra Pradesh