The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) says it has received complaints regarding the increase in the price of bottled water following the suspension of the manufacturing, packaging, supply and retail of the commodity by Zambia Metrological Agency.
The suspension were on quantities which include 18.9L, 20L and 21.8L of bottled potable water.
CCPC Public Relations Officer, Namukolo Kasumpa said CCPC has launched investigations into the matter following the complaints the Commission received from the public.
Ms. Kasumpa said all the manufacturers and traders that will be found to have increased the prices of water without reasonable justification of corresponding increases in the sourcing costs will be taken to task.
She said the commission has repeatedly warned businesses to desist from engaging themselves in conducts that are unfair and anti-competitive.
Ms Kasumpa said the commission will not sit idle and watch consumers being exploited in the wake of the suspension and has since requested members of the public with supporting evidence to report unjustified price increases in bottled water that has occurred in the last two weeks.

“We are aware that there are people who are trying to beat the system, so we hope the fines will discourage them,” Mayor Georges Bourelle said.
If it’s a hot summer, for example, and a water meter is registering an unusually low consumption of drinking water, it is flagged and an inspector pays a visit to see if the (device) is properly connected.” The hike in fines also applies to people who contaminate the water system.
A homeowner will be fined $1,000 for the first offence, $1,500 for the second offence and $2,000 for a subsequent offence.
Buildings that are not individual residences, such as office buildings or commercial enterprises, will be fined $2,000 for the first offence, $3,000 for the second offence and $4,000 for a subsequent offence.
The bylaw on the use of drinking water gives city workers and inspectors the right to access private property to check drinking-water devices supplied by the municipality.
Fines have also been increased for people who contravene any one of the regulations listed in the bylaw, be it for watering the lawn outside of regulated hours, failing to equip an automated watering system with the required sensors or placing a watering device so that water runs onto a neighbouring property.
The fine for contravening a regulation for individuals is $100 to $300 for the first offence, $300 to $500 for the second offence and $500 to $1,000 for a subsequent offence.
The fines for other buildings, be it office buildings, businesses or multi-unit buildings, are $200 to $600 for the first offence, $600 to $1,000 for the second offence and $1,000 to $2,000 for a subsequent offence.
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Waimea trail draws hikers despite recent citations.
Noah De La Cruz, 19, and Ani Case, 18, were mulling over the idea of hiking the trail while they were parked Saturday morning along the road hikers often take to access the trail, which leads to an overlook and flume.
“I’ve always lived in Waimea and I never got a chance to do it,” said Case.
The trail’s a popular one on the island with many hikers headed to a water flume — a constructed irrigation waterway that adventurers use like a water slide — that drops 35 feet into a shallow pool, according to the Department of Land and Natural Resources.
Several steps to take The first gate hikers would need to cross marks the beginning of property leased by the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands.
Beyond that is a second gate belonging to the Department of Land and Natural Resources and marks the boundary of the Kohala Restricted Watershed, part of the Kohala Forest Reserve.
Ward also noted the dangers of hiking the trail, citing damage done by the 2006 Kiholo Bay earthquake.
“I don’t mind if people go, just gotta be safe.
Kaniho, who lives up the road from the trailhead, said he hasn’t hiked the trail but he’s seen fewer people in the last week, and that the state should just let hikers go.
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Fee hike: Parents form human chain.
Haryana Mukesh Tandon Panipat, April 10 Enraged over the hike in fees and annual funds by private schools, parents of students formed a human chain here today.
They gathered under the banner of the Panipat Parents Association at a local market to oppose the private schools’ move.
The parents protested against the fee hike, annual charges, development charges, smart classroom charges and other funds by private schools.
The protesting parents formed a human chain for more than an hour.
Rakesh Chugh, vice-president of the PPA, said all schools were under the state education policy and norms and they were bound to obey norms of the Education Department.
Rohan Goyal, secretary of the PPA, urged parents not to hand over vehicles to teenagers because it was dangerous for children as well as other commuters.
Private schools oppose order to install sewage treatment plants Faridabad: The state Pollution Control Board has directed private schools to install sewage treatment plants (STP) on their premises to prevent water wastage.
No school in the district has such a facility at present, it is revealed.
While the demand of STP in educational institutions was not a new norm under the Pollution Control Act, no school in the city had established one, they claimed.