The source said the lab testing showed that the samples of 12 water brands were highly contaminated having 48-180 coliforms level and the names of eights of these had already been reported by news outlets some weeks ago.
It is pertinent to mention that the bottled water brands Deep Spring, Nectar, Hydro8, Bareen, Moozan, Elovina, Aquantis and Mapple Plus last month were found accused of supplying highly contaminated water in the federal capital.
When asked about the accused water brands, the source responded that Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) food department had documented their results.
A member of the Islamabad Mineral Water Association told NayaDaur that food department fined some of the brands but, unfortunately, their names were not shared with media despite repeated requests.
“The ICT food department only provide the names of small companies to media, the big fish, who have a wide circle of customers, are always safeguarded. Don’t know how they make deals,” he added.
The Islamabad High Court (IHC) in its last verdict last month had ordered the Islamabad district administration to seal all those bottled water brands who were accused of supplying contaminated water. However, the district administration failed on that front as some of them were permitted to operate.
When contacted, Islamabad District Commissioner Mohammad Hamza Shafqat did not respond.
Similarly, Deputy Director (Food) Iqbal Yousaf was unavailable for comments as always despite multiple calls and text messages.