Action After TOI Expose On Bottled Water Scam Team TOI Ahmedabad: Several agencies swung into action on Monday after the TOI expose on the bottled water racket and how it posed a health risk on the users. Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), which raided one such illegal bottling plant in Sarkhej, plans to send notices to all licensed packaged drinking water bottling plants telling them to come clean on the issue and reveal who were using the ISI mark illegally. The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC), the regulating authority, has decided to intercept vehicles ferrying this drinking water to take samples for testing. The TOI expose revealed how illegal 'plants' packaged water containing harmful microbial organisms in bottles bearing brand labels and sold them to unsuspecting customers. On Monday BIS officials quizzed the partners of Parshwa Beverages, whose licensed ISI mark was being misused by an operator raided last week. "It was revealed that Parshwa Beverages was aware of the scam but kept quiet about it, as their unit was located on the offender's land," said BIS enforcement officer Bengali Baboo. Admitting that this scam could potentially snowball into a major health crisis, state health commissioner Dr Amar-jit Singh said, "Taking note of the TOI story we have asked the food & drugs control administration (FDCA) to take immediate action". "Eleven samples have been taken so far from different parts of the city and sent for testing in our laboratory One licensed water packaging unit in Vatva was issued penalty notice after the pouch from its factory was found on the Dakor route without batch numbers," says AMC medical officer S P Kulkarni. Commissioner, FDCA, HG Koshiya said, "Investigation into the scam has been ordered as it is a serious issue. A team has been formed to check on licensed bottling units". Going by AMC records, there are 16 manufacturing units and eight distributors in the city. But officials claim at least 50 illegal small water tattling units could be operating in the city Scientist in-charge, central laboratory, AMC, Paresh Patel says, "Packaged water must be free of any chemical and bacterial content for safety"