5 packaged drinking water bottling plants closed in Tripura over safety issues

Units have mushroomed in State in the absence of checks and inspection

Authorities in Tripura have closed five packaged drinking water bottling plants over safety and licence issues. Joint teams comprising medical, drug control and food safety officials are conducting raids on the plants and ordering their immediate closure if rules and guidelines are breached.

“Our officials along with food safety and drug control staff launched a crackdown on the erring water bottling plants on Friday. We visited plants at various places and the raids will continue,” a health department official told The Hindu on Sunday evening.

He said they have received instructions from the top office of the government to inspect all packaged drinking water factories to check whether health issues are compromised. Teams have been formed for all districts.

The visiting officials have so far ordered closure of five plants – three in Agartala and two in Belonia – district headquarters of south Tripura. These factories had multiple issues from hygiene to essential documents to water distillation.

The government had earlier issued instructions to the departments concerned after gross breach of safety issues have been reported. The plants have mushroomed across Tripura over the past decade in the absence of checks and inspection.