Bottled water price soars

Visakhapatnam: With the temperatures rising, prices of bottled mineral water have also shot up. A 20 litre bottle of a branded company is being sold at a price of Rs 70 in the Vizag, while other brands are being sold between Rs 40 and Rs 50 against the average price of Rs 20 to 25.
The high price is attributed to several reasons including the sweltering temperature conditions, scarcity of drinking water and rise in awareness among the citizens clean water."Drinking acid-free mineral water has become a way of life with the increasing number of diseases and pollution levels in ground water. People now don't think twice before spending on it," said Dr KV Ram Kumar, MD of Lakshmi Gayatri Hospital at Akkayyapalem.
Claiming high demand for water, traders of bottled mineral water are charging extra money.
According to sources, nearly 10 lakh litres of bottled or packaged water is traded per day by around 1,000 dealers and 200 manufacturing units in the city.