Kerala directs collectors to enforce free water rule at multiplexes
Kerala's Civil Supplies department has ordered District Collectors to create a monitoring mechanism ensuring multiplexes provide free RO-filtered drinking water to patrons.
The Kerala Department of Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs has directed District Collectors to establish a regular oversight mechanism for multiplexes, ensuring they provide uninterrupted, free RO-filtered drinking water to all customers during business hours. The move follows inspections triggered by complaints about high food and beverage prices, which also uncovered that many theatres were not offering free water and failed to display required notices about its availability.
Food and Supplies Minister Anoop Jacob stated that the government wants a proactive system rather than acting only on sporadic complaints. District Supply Officers have been authorised to file cases before consumer courts against violators. "Stringent action will be taken against cinema halls that failed to provide free drinking water to the public," he said.
On the separate issue of regulating steep food prices inside cinemas, the Minister said the department has sought the Law Department's opinion.
A joint inspection by officials from Civil Supplies, Legal Metrology, and Food Safety in Kochi found a 45-gram butter-salt popcorn priced at ₹330, with larger sizes costing up to ₹540. A litre of bottled water was sold at ₹90 despite an MRP of ₹100; a multiplex representative claimed the higher price was due to added minerals. The same inspection found no free drinking water available at a multiplex with over ten screens, despite rules requiring it.
Officials have now directed multiplexes to install water kiosks conspicuously near screens. D. B. Binu, president of the Ernakulam District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, recalled an earlier order requiring a multiplex firm to display notice boards about free water availability and maintain the facility in a clean, hygienic manner.