Residents of Umuahia, Abia State have expressed outrage over the astronomical increase in the price of sachet water, popularly known as pure water.
Findings showed that the price of sachet water has gone up to N50 per one.
But two weeks ago, the commodity was sold at two sachets for N50, meaning that the dealers have increased the retail price by 100%.
Also, a bag that contains 20 sachets now goes for between N400 and N450 when compared to N300 when it was sold two weeks ago by the retailers.
Additionally, findings indicated that the price increase started following a recent two-day strike by members of the Table and Sachet Water Producers Association in Abia State.
After the meeting, the members increased the price to N350 per bag from the previous N250, while retail shops sold to the final consumers at N50 per sachet.
Some residents of the state said they now drink directly from boreholes and other public sources.
However, the residents who acknowledged the health implications of drinking from other sources appealed to both the producers and the Abia State government to immediately do something about the problem.
A public health expert, Dr. Terry Omemma, said something must be done to reduce the price of drinking water and enable poor consumers to access it.
He also warned that consuming unclean water could lead to an outbreak of major water-borne diseases.
But defending their decision to increase the price of sachet water, the members of the Association of Table and Sachet Water Producers in Abia State blamed their decision on the rising cost of production materials.
The members, who spoke through Peter Nwakanma (Chairman), said they would reduce the price if the cost of production materials came down in the market.
