Some believe that India is a poor country in terms of the money the people have. Yet what we do with the little money which we have is far from being commendable. We have traditionally considered giving water and quenching someone’s thirst as an honour and a virtue. However, now that we are progressing, it is not very far when we completely get rid of these feelings.
Consider this; India consumes 1.4 billion gallons of bottled water per year i.e. 5.299 billion litres of bottled water. Assuming the prevalent price of Rs 10 per litre of bottled water, the total amounts to an outflow of Rs 52.99 billion or Rs 5299 crore or $1.19 billion from the consumers’ pockets. The trend has become so much prevalent that even ordinary restaurants have started asking their customers if they would prefer ‘normal’ or ‘mineral’ water.
Adding to all this we have the consumption of soft drinks increasing at a rate unmatched in the entire world. This again is mainly water with ingredients which, though are not completely disclosed, but have been talked out at length. If you consider the outflow corresponding to this industry then you might change your perception of India as a poor country. Also, at Rs 10 per 300ml this water is more costly than diesel in many states of the country.
Also, there is a perception that Indians are one of the most intelligent human beings. Consider this; the soft drinks sales do not drop even when it is confirmed in the laboratories that they contain pesticides and other chemicals which would be harmful for the body. We are indifferent to the proved allegations regarding the consumption of the country’s ground water reserves, which are as it is scanty for the population, by these companies. We do not care about the price at which we get the soft drink even after knowing the fact that it costs the company only Rs 0.70 for a 300ml bottle.
From childhood, we have been taught that we take in oxygen and leave carbon dioxide. Also, how active deforestation is harming, apart from other things, the availability of oxygen and how the percentage of carbon dioxide is increasing in the atmosphere. Yet, here we are consuming soft drinks which are nothing but water with carbon dioxide and some other harmful chemicals pumped in.
Also, now-a-days everyone is health conscious and tries to avoid sweets or anything that would be fattening. But they cannot say no to a soft drink which constitutes of 10 teaspoons of sugar, if not more, per 300ml.
Finally, I personally like soft drinks as would you but I wonder, considering all the things if it is a good idea to drink one.
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4 comments:
what the..... u got nothing better!!!! & i didn't get what it was eally about water or soft drink or mineral water, should people drink any or not or may be should buy deisel instead b'coz it's cheaper or what.... & by the way @ rs. 10 it's mineral water (1 litre) or soft drink (300 ml, though it is for less than 10) that people drink and not the total water consumption of india and so doesn't make sense to just multiply the two numbers; or if you are at it and really want to do something cool then multiply 10 by the total water there is in the Indian Ocean and make India the richest country in the world... now that's the kind of multiplication I like ;)
http://www.mineralwaters.org/index.php?func=f&parval=market/index
http://www.earth-policy.org/Updates/2006/Update51.htm
i don't understand why would somebody write that comment especially the stupid multiplication part when it is clearly written that it is only the botled water that is being multiplied. I think people should be more responsible while posting or atleast should read the whole blog, and not mindlessly. Above are two links which give some more insight into this so very important national and international issue. I woul also like to say that some people think they are being funny writing stupid stuff on the net & I think they should first get to know about the topic before blabbering on & on, & crapping all over the place.
The post was meant to provoke people to think about their consumption patterns and whether that was justified.
I regret if I was not clear in differenciating water or soft drink but I did mention bottled water.
Also, what I wanted to bring forward was the money being spent due to conspicuous consumption like bottled water. And the acoompanying health hazards.
Also, thanks for the sites mentioned in the previous comment. They are are good sources on the topic.
Interesting blog that ashu, more so because of the comments that were received ;). Additionally, I would say that these cold drink and 'bottled' water :) companies are smart enough to rope in the biggest stars of our country at unbelievable price to endorse their 'cheap' products (Rs 0.7), since they have a telling influence and following in this 'developing' nation. And guess what, even I tried to bajao the cool whistle as Ash expected :)))
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