The District Supply Officer in Anantapur on Saturday deputed his staff to inspect a restaurant in the city after it allegedly refused to serve water to customers for free and forced them to buy mineral water bottles, that too at a price higher than the MRP.
The move came after a patron filed a complaint with the DSO in this regard.
The customer said that he had asked for drinking water, but the restaurant staff refused to serve him regular water and gave him a bottle of mineral water. The customer did not drink from the bottle, but was reportedly charged by the restaurant for the unopened bottle.
The customer then lodged a complaint with Anantapur District Supply Officer Siva Sankar Reddy, who deputed his staff to the restaurant to verify the complaint. The restaurant staff reportedly claimed that they were unable to serve drinking water as it was not potable, and hence gave the customer a bottle of mineral water.
Mr. Sankar Reddy said that the restaurant was duty-bound to serve water along with food items, and along with ensuring the quality of food, it also has to ensure safe drinking water and cannot charge the customers on that count. In the bill submitted to the DSO, the mineral water bottle was charged at a higher price, which Mr. Reddy said was a violation.
In addition to this, for customers consuming food on their premises, promoting plastic bottles was also a violation as according to the rules laid down by the government, the usage of single-use plastic has to be reduced.
