RAWALPINDI, Nov 27: Pakistan Council of Research on Water Resources (PCRWR) will carry out this year’s second round of bottled water quality analysis without the participation of consumer rights groups, Dawn has learnt.

This round will be held in December as part of federal science and technology minister Dr Attaur Rehman’s decision to conduct biannual tests of bottled water for protecting the consumers against poor quality water.

Sources claimed that Dr Atta, while ordering the tests, had said these would be participatory in nature and consumer groups would be engaged.

During the previous round of testing, carried out by the PCRWR in collaboration with consumer rights groups earlier this year, it was found that 52 per cent of bottled water available in the market was unfit for human consumption.

However, the Council did not disclose the names of substandard brands, but on the insistence of consumer groups Dr Atta intervened and the names were revealed. This decision, consumers said, was very significant as it helped them in making informed choices.

Dr Abdul Majeed of the PCRWR, while talking to this scribe, said, “we intend to conduct the second round of bottled water analysis and all other similar projects on our own with the help of local administration, but we regret to say we will not be engaging any consumer group.”

This decision has irked the consumers who have little faith in government functionaries and campaigns conducted by them. They maintained that they had the right to be represented in all such campaigns to ensure transparency and accuracy.

Dr Majeed, however, said the consumer rights groups had been left out as a matter of policy decision, since their interaction with these groups had not been remarkable in any case. “These groups have been trying to dictate us, and we believe that being a federal agency we are aware of our responsibilities”, he added.

The consumer groups have also cast doubt on the independent nature of the PCRWR. They recalled that during an interface with Pakistan Bottled Water Association at Trust for Voluntary Organizations it transpired that some of Council officials were working as consultants with the bottled water manufacturers.

This issue resurfaced at a function organized in connection with the Standards Day where Dr Atta asserted that no PCRWR official would be allowed to work as a consultant with any bottled water manufacturer.

The consumers fear that the sidelining of the consumer rights groups from any future test drives might also be the result of an unholy alliance between the corporate sector and government functionaries.

Meanwhile, the brands of bottled water declared unfit for human consumption by the PCRWR during the previous round continue to be sold in various markets.

The failure of the district administration to remove these items from the stores has jeopardized the health of around 10 per cent of the population that uses mineral water. The consumers include foreigners, patients, travellers and restaurants, though there is no formal estimate of the number of consumers of mineral water in the country.

According to the PCRWR sources, most of the mineral water manufacturers are not processing and bottling the water according to the guidelines and standards set up by the World Health Organization and International Bottling Water Association for this industry.

Bottled water is one of the most lucrative high return and flourishing business in the country. A large number of bottlers have sprung up because of the large profit margins and almost no government quality control over the industry.