After reading this bit of news, I was reminded of a poll that Ajay created long ago. Here is the poll question - “How safe is your drinking water? How much importance do you give to find out purity of water that you consume daily?
Here are the poll results:
Among the 175 netizens who voted,
39.43 % believe that any packed water is mineral water and safe to drink
21.14 % prefer water from purifiers or boiled water.
17.14 % seem to suspect duplicacy though they trust brand names
11.42 % have other work to do 
This poll was by no means a perfect attempt to guage public opinion on this issue. 175 is too small a number to reflect the whole of Chennai. But even then, this statistic does have some meaning. It reflects the importance level that we attach to quality of water. As the news article suggests, number of people affected by water borne diseases in the city is high and increasing. Avoid drinking water from roadside hotels and shops. Even from the vendors on the beach. Do not assume that the water is clean. Watch out for fake brands. Dont forget that the unknown ‘XYZ’ water bottle that you buy in a hurry at a railway station / bus stand might well take you to the hospital. I would suggest to use boiled water always.
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May 8, 2008 at 4:42 pm
Alok
A good point to note, all packaged water may not be safe to drink. Also Just check before buying whether it has something stickered/information on it that will give an impression; it’s from a reliable source. I know its difficult but always a check is better then nothing.
May 8, 2008 at 10:50 pm
backpakker
there is so many packaged water available today that its scary ..
lakshmi
May 10, 2008 at 2:03 pm
Jayan
@Alok:
Yes. Consumer should be extra careful of dupes of trusted brands.
@Lakshmi:
Yes, that too when something like this follows.