Bottled water from TDB soon

PATHANAMTHITTA: In a major break from its traditional job as the custodian of 1,280-odd temples, the Travancore Devaswom Board is  set to enter the   bottled water sector in a big way.  TDB president M Rajagopalan Nair told Express  that the board will  diversify into the lucrative bottled water business  by taking advantage of the heavy overflow of water from the Kunnar dam, the important source of water at Sabarimala.   The TDB can easily tap the water  from Kunnar dam, which overflows for six months in a year, he said. The wastage of water, especially during the monsoon, can thus be prevented. The bottling plant can make use of the 1.25-crore-litre capacity water storage tanks at Pandithavalam near Sannidhanam, Nair said. With the availability of the pipeline network from Kunnar dam to Pandithavalam and gravity flow of water, the cost of manufacturing could be kept at the minimum, he said. Once the plans for the  bottled plant are finalised, the TDB would go for collaboration in manufacturing and distribution. During the two-month pilgrimage festival, the demand for bottled water would increase and the TDB can capitalise on it, he said. The sale could be expanded to the nearby towns in Pathanamthitta and Kottayam districts.  The TDB would go for a multi-storeyed ‘annadanam’ complex at Pandithavalam, he said.  The annadanam centre at Malikappuram is facing congestion on account of its location near the temple. The TDB would set up a sewage collection tank at Sannidhanam to prevent the overflow from the safety tanks located at Sannidhanam to join Jnungar,  a tributary of Pampa.The project cost of the tank would be about Rs 1.25 crore, he said.