The bottled water plant ‘Hilly Aqua’, under the Kerala Irrigation Infrastructure Development Corporation (KIIDC) — a state government enterprise — is coming to Kozhikode. This will be the first such plant in North Kerala and will be located at Chakkittapara in Perambra. Water from the Japan Drinking Water Project at the Peruvannamuzhi dam will be used for this plant.
The supply will be mainly targeted at the districts in the Malabar region. Currently, Hilly Aqua has plants in Thodupuzha and Aruvikkara. Apart from Kozhikode, a plant is also being planned for Kochi. The Kozhikode facility will be built on a 6,000 square feet area near Peruvannamuzhi. The plant will process up to two lakh liters of water per day. It will also have an in-house lab with a microbiologist and a chemical analyst to ensure water quality.
The project is expected to be commissioned within nine months, according to Hilly Aqua Senior General Manager V. Saji. The building and land in Chakkittapara have been taken on lease for 15 years. Bottled water will be available in 20-liter, 5-liter, 2-liter, 1-liter, and 500ml bottles. Dealers have already been invited for distribution discussions.
Currently, Hilly Aqua water is being distributed through jail canteens. Though they expressed willingness to supply bottled water at subsidized rates to patients and bystanders at Kozhikode Medical College, they have not yet received a response from the hospital authorities. Additionally, there is an agreement to supply Hilly Aqua water to railway stations where ‘Rail Neer’, the Indian Railways’ bottled water brand, is not available, for the next three years.
