Thiruvananthapuram: Drinking Water Companies Demand the Government to increase the price of bottled water from RS 13 to RS 16.
The companies have warned that their production will be stopped if the government is not ready to increase prices.
Manufacturers also demand that the government must reduce the GST level in bottled water.
The Association of Air Manufacturers of Drinking Packaging Kerala will soon regulate the March and Dharna secretariat to increase these demands.
The association has demanded a withdrawal of government policies that have affected more than 200 bottled water producers in the state.
More than 10,000 workers, distributors, manufacturers of pre-foam pets and lakh retailers are indirectly influenced by this, said Jacob Abraham from the association.
The main demands included – excluding bottled water from important commodity articles, protecting the rights of producers and distributors, ending the government’s double standard to collect 18% tax on bottled water while collecting only 5% GST in important items and creating similar industrial environments in Kerala like other countries.
Because of government policy, many bottled water companies in Kerala are closed.