Enugu residents decry increase in price of sachet water

Maureen Ojinaka

Some residents of Enugu metropolis have decried the abrupt increase in the price of sachet water also known as “pure water’’ in the state.

Some of the residents, who spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), said on Friday in Enugu, that the 40 per cent increment was on high and unreasonable.

Mrs 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 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 water  that used to be N10 now goes for between N15 and N20.

“If we buy a 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.

Another resident, Mr 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, Mr Okwy Ozor, called on Enugu State Government to urgently resolve the problem of water scarcity and provide the residents with clean running water.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN)) reports that 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.