Kerala Water Authority bottled drinking water to hit markets in three months

PALAKKAD: Water resources minister K Krishnankutty refuted allegations that the Kerala Water Authority (KWA) has decided to hand over its drinking water bottling plant at Aruvikkara to a private company.
"It will be run by the Kerala Irrigation Infrastructure Development Corporation. Water resources minister is its chairman and secretary of water resources department its MD," the minister said. He said the bottled drinking water will be made available in the market within three months and that its distribution will be entrusted with Kudumbashree Mission units.
Inaugurating the revenue adalat of KWA on Saturday, the minister said the KWA will take up projects worth Rs 11,000 crore with financial assistance from various lending institutions. The completion of the ongoing works for which the government has sanctioned Rs 9,000 crore will help the state meet major drinking water requirements, he added. The minister said there is a proposal to increase the water charges as KWA has been running up losses.