Hot Weather: Sellers of sachet water make brisk business in Enugu

Sellers of Sachet water also known as `pure water’in Enugu State are making brisk business in the state with the prevailing hot weather in the city.

Some of the sachet water sellers told our reporter in Enugu on Tuesday that they make high sales since the commencement of the hot weather last month.

According to them, the current harsh weather has forced many people, especially labourers and those working on the sun to drink a lot of cold water and soft drinks to prevent dehydration.

A sachet water distributor, Mrs. Agatha Edeonwe, said the water business was booming seriously in the metropolis and its environs because of the excessively hot weather and also the fear of drinking bad water.

Edeonwe said that as a distributor, she distributed over 150 bags of sachet water day as against between 40 bags and 60 bags she sold previously.

“Unfortunately, the demand of sachet water is more than supply as what she gets from the water company is lower than her customers’ demand.

“For instance, I got 800 bags of water last week Tuesday and it has finished on Thursday. Again on Saturday, I got another 400 bags and before Monday afternoon, it has finished.

“Yet customers are demanding for more. We are urging the producers to increase their volume of production,” she said.

A hawker simply identified as John, who hawks sachet water and soft drink, said that he made huge profit in the business now because of high demand for cold sachet water and soft drinks.

“My sachet water is booming because many people are buying cold water and soft drinks to quench their thirst. The truth is that water business moves in dry season more than rainy season,” he added.

The hawker said he sold between 25 bags and 30 bags of sachet water on a daily since the hot season started, saying he also made profit of at least N2,500 daily.

John emphasised that the business had enabled him to pay his bills and other expenses.

Another seller, Miss Blessing Ugwu, who sells sachet water near the Institute of Management and Technology (IMT), said she also sold about 30 bags of water daily due to the hot weather.

Ugwu however, said that her major challenge was incessant power outage which affected chilling of water to the satisfaction of customers.

She said that she resorted to buying ice blocks to chill her drinks.

A health worker based in Enugu, Miss Joy Ngwu, advised people to take more water especially during this hot and dry weather to avoid dehydration and disease.

Ngwu noted that normal human being should drink at least 10 sachets of water or five litres a day to maintain the fluid in the body, saying that failure to do so may likely expose one to kidney disease or constant headache.

“The harsh and hot weather has made me to drink much water nowadays because my body needs it. Even my water usage at home has increased, which is caused by the season that we are into,” she said.

The health worker blamed the increase in sachet water consumption to the failure of the state government to supply available clean and drinkable water to the residents of Enugu metropolis.