Dubai
It was late in the evening when Gulf News’ reader Zainudeen Shabbir was on his way back from a shopping trip, and to his horror found nine 5-gallon returnable drinking water bottles placed next to a municipality garbage bin. This disturbing scene was witnessed behind a shopping mall on Jumeirah Beach Road. This raised serious concerns, and he forwarded the picture to Gulf News.
“Some bottles were sealed with water still in them and others were empty, I was shocked to see these bottles placed next to the garbage bin. We do not know if this water is clean,” he told Gulf News.
This is not the first time he has witnessed such a sight. “Unfortunately, it was dark and I could not see the company’s name on the bottle. I just took a picture. Such companies should be fined,” Shabbir added.
According to statistics by Water.org, diarrhoea caused by poor quality drinking water, sanitation, and hand hygiene kills an estimated 842,000 people every year globally.
On investigating the matter a step further, when Gulf News visited the site, the bottles were no longer by the garbage bin.
An employee named Eduardo Ramos working at the mall, who uses the space to take his smoking breaks said, “The bottles are mostly old bottles thrown away by restaurants or shops at the plaza that no longer need them.” The two restaurants at the mall and various shops have signed up with the same water company for their employees, and serve their customers bottled mineral water.
Abdel Fattah Zky, the security manager at the mall further assured that the water bottles that are usually placed near garbage bins are indeed “old with expired water” and are by no means to be reused for drinking purposes.
Gulf News spoke to a company representative of the water company Al Shalal that provides water to the mall outlets, who said that it is the only water company in the UAE to be certified with EIA Quality Mark, ISO 9001-2008, HACCP, and a member of the Shaikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Establishment. The spokesperson said: “Al Shalal works under strict conditions to ensure their quality standards. There is a specialised machine for cleaning and sanitising of the bottles.” Also, the company has a three-month expiration date for the water, after which it is discarded.
- The writer is an intern with Gulf News
