Residents of Enugu metropolis have decried the abrupt increase in the prices of sachet water also known as “pure water’’ in the state.
Some of the residents who spoke on Friday in Enugu said the 40 percent increment was high and unreasonable.
Chioma Chukwu, a resident of Achara Layout said that a bag of sachet water had risen from N160 to N200. Chukwu said she was amazed at the sudden increase of the product as she did not know why the sudden increase, lamenting that sachet water is the only thing she could afford.
Another resident, who spoke on condition of anonymity said that the producers of sachet water in the metropolis increased the price due to increase in prices of petroleum products in the country.
She explained that a sachet of water that used to be N10 now goes for between N15 and N20.
“If we buy sachet water for N20, it means that many people will have to go back to old ways of using nylon to tie water to sell, especially in the rural areas,” she said.
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Another resident, Timothy Igwe, said that the best way to avoid spending money on sachet water should be by filling empty water cans with drinking water and taking them along while going out for a long period.
An undergraduate, Okwy Ozor, called on the Enugu State Government to urgently resolve the problem of water scarcity and provide the residents with clean running water.
The Association of Table Water Producers (ATWAP), Enugu State chapter, recently confirmed the increase in the price of a bag of sachet water from N160 to N200.
The association said the increase was necessary due to rising production costs which had negatively impacted on the operations of its members.
Pastor Blessed Okonkwo, ATWAP State Chairman, announced the price increase in a statement issued after a meeting of the association held in Enugu on March 15.
