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Supply of five-gallon water bottles irregular in Sharjah

SHARJAH — Residents have said the supply of five-gallon water bottles directly from companies to their homes has been quite irregular following the ban imposed by the Sharjah Municipality on the sale of such bottles in the emirate’s groceries.

They add that drinking water companies are unable to meet huge demand and they hardly deliver water on time.

Several groceries, on the other hand, have continued stocking five-gallon water bottles from reputed companies, claiming that “it’s in the interest of their customers”.

Mohammed Al Amin, who lives in Al Mussala, feels the municipality should have penalised unauthorised water supply companies rather than groceries for not complying with hygiene and health safety rules. “The municipality should allow groceries to sell drinking water from reputed companies and ban the sale of drinking water of unknown companies,” he says.

Commenting on the issue, Mohammed Omar Al Bannai, Head of the Food Control Department at the Sharjah Municipality, says the civic body will issue warnings to groceries that if they don’t follow the ban, heavy fines will be imposed. Al Bannai stresses that this rule is in force to protect public health.

Regarding residents’ complaint about irregular supply of drinking water, Haji Al Hajri, Director General of Zulal Water Company, says a new water factory will be operational by the end of April in Sharjah to resolve this problem.

He adds that the Dh30 million state-of-the-art factory in the country located in Hamdah area will produce about 2,000 gallons of water per hour. The factory will use a highly advanced technology in treating ground water rather than desalinating sea water.

The factory will also produce one gallon bottles as well and it has already maximised the frequency of its distribution vehicles, Al Hajri says.

A source from Oasis, another water company, says the firm has already increased its fleet of distribution vehicles and staff to cover the maximum area possible.

• UAE