India to ban airports and stations from charging inflated prices for bottled water

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India is set to make it illegal to increase the price of bottled water in airports, cinemas and hotels.

Consumer Affairs Minister, Ram Vilas Paswan, took to Twitter to make the announcement, after a range of complaints regarding hiked prices for water.

Bottled water will now be sold at the same price throughout the country and those who choose to ignore the ruling will be penalised, the minister said.

“Complaints related to the prices of bottled water collected at different places in the Consumer Forum of the Consumer Ministry are coming in large scale,” he tweeted.

“Mineral water bottle will be available at the same rate at airports, hotels and malls,” he added.

Those who break the new law could be fined up to 100,000 rupees (£1200) or face one year in prison, according to India Times.

The price of bottled water had been on the rise in India, with companies blaming temperature rises, an increase in awareness of drinking clean water and the scarcity of readily available water.

Consumers were being forced to pay between 40 and 50 rupees (60 pence), when previously it had cost them between 20 and 25 rupees (30 pence) for a bottle.