LAHORE, Jan 31: The Pakistan Railways continues to flout a direction by the Supreme Court that it should change the bottled water being supplied to passengers in trains and sold at platforms.

The apex court directed the railways administration to revoke the present contract, invite fresh bids and award the contract of bottled water supply to a firm after examination of water by a credible laboratory.

Passengers told Dawn that the railways continued to serve the same bottled water, which the Supreme Court had declared as injurious to health. The court declared in its decision on Dec 31 that bottled water being supplied to passengers was unfit for consumption.

A division bench of the Supreme Court was informed a month ago that bottled water being marketed by a multinational company (Nestle) was injurious to health and another firm (Classic) supplying this water under a contract with the Pakistan Railways had the potential of inflicting stomach and other diseases on consumers.

The information about water came through sealed reports of water test of the two companies, which the apex court itself ordered by sending samples of water to the National Institute of Health in Islamabad and the PCSIR Laboratories in Lahore.

The test was completed in the process of a writ petition moved by the multinational company that also manufactured and distributed milk and other products, seeking a court injunction against the Pakistan Railways to cancel the contract of the firm for the supply of bottled water and award that to it.

Comprising Justice Khalilur Rehman Ramday and Justice Falaksher, the court took serious view of the reports observing that the firms were making the people consume poison. The court also observed that rail passengers were particularly captive buyers, as no hygienic water was available at platforms and inside trains.