Anantnag: In a bizarre incident, a revenue officer of the rank of Tehsildar in Kulgam district consumed “battery water” after a shopkeeper mistook it for mineral water and handed it over to him.
The shopkeeper had the battery water stored in his refrigerator, along with mineral water and other beverages. General stores are not authorised to sell things like batter water and petrol, unless they hold a proper license for it.
Usually, battery water is sold at petrol pumps but in far-flung areas it is often local shopkeepers who stock and sell it.
The incident took place on Wednesday in DH Pora area of Kulgam district where the local Tehsildar, Niaz Ahmad, was conducting a drive to destroy illegal poppy plantation.
“I was tired and thirsty on the way back. I stopped by a shop and asked for a bottle of mineral water,” Ahmad told Kashmir Reader.
He said that the shopkeeper handed him a bottle from his fridge and only after gulping down one-third of the bottle did he realise that it was not normal water. “It tasted weird and when I looked at the bottle, there was battery water written on it,” he said.
Ahmad was immediately hospitalised and was administered some medicine and an injection. “My stomach is burning. I am on my way to GMC Anantnag to consult a doctor there,” Ahmad said.
Police have meanwhile taken cognisance of the matter and the shopkeeper was detained immediately after the incident. “An FIR is yet to be lodged in the matter,” a police officer from Kulgam told Kashmir Reader.
In 2012, a 5-year-old girl had died while six other members of her family had fallen unconscious after consuming expired noodles they bought from a local shop, in Manzgam area of Kulgam district.
A question mark was raised then on the district administration for being unable to regulate these small shops in remote areas. Today’s incident is a similar one and again highlights the need to regulate these shops.

Reader correspondent