“You don’t even need to download them, they download them on their own,” the woman told him. employee of a Supermarket to his partner that he was climbing between the gondolas at the back of the supermarket and that he was getting ready to take the water drums that had just arrived to accommodate them.
At 10 a.m. this Thursday. 96 six-liter cans of water from the Salus brand had arrived at the TaTa supermarketlocated on 18 de Julio, in the center of Montevideo. An hour later, 52 had already been sold and there were no drums of other brands left.
-It’s a robbery! –She answered him, joking, his partner.
Between the gondolas came a tall, large cart, with a pallet as a support, which was full of drums. The person in charge filled out the form to control the drums that had just arrived while, spontaneously, a line formed of about 10 customers who waited their turn.
Like who waits for hot bread.
Each one grabbed two or three cans of water. Back among the dairy aisles, another group of employees and customers stopped to watch the scene.
“This is the zombie movie,” said an employee, to the laughter of the customers.
Did the water rise? Anytime it goes up, right? another worker commented.
The night before had ended the same in the Lagomar English Store supermarket. Around 7:00 p.m., the gondola of water drums was empty. On the floor were some of an alternative brand.
“We already unloaded the last pallet,” a worker commented, trying to explain the mess. At that hour, it was rare to see that any of the clients was without her water canister. Everyone had: in their hands, on carts. The company decided to put up a sign announcing that it only allowed the purchase of six drums per buyer.
Ines Guimaraens
Supermarkets are selling drums of an “extraordinary” shape
–I’m taking three drums because I’m using it for cooking, for everything. I’m not hypertensive but I don’t eat with salt and also the water is ugly. I’m only using the OSE one to bathe and flush the cistern –argued a client to The Observer.
A few blocks from the TaTa supermarket, in the Milo store, located in the center of the capital, 80 drums of the Salus brand arrived at 8 in the morning on Thursday. The owner put a sign on the door announcing that there were drums. “I sold them in an hour”she counted surprised. He sold 79 to customers. She kept one behind the counter to make her coffee.
The owner of that business knows that she was “privileged” for the supplier to deliver drums because, according to what the delivery men told her, “it sells like a supermarket.”. At the Frog supermarket located on Rivera avenue and 14 de Julio, in Pocitos, employees downloaded a whole truckload of drums from the Nativa brand at noon.
Juan da Silva, on loan to El Observador
Native water truck unloading at Frog
However, Several autoservices from the Center placed orders for drums days ago and they still have not arrived. The employee of a Frog said that the drums that were left “they all took them yesterday” and that they do not know when they are going to replace them. The high demand for non-carbonated water cans, due to the OSE water salinityis leaving local businesses out of stock.
On this, the president of Cambadu, Daniel Fernandezassured to The Observer that in neighborhood businesses it is not expected that there will be a shortage of water with the increase in consumption. Fernández said that he spoke with authorities of the “two main brands” of water and they told him that “They don’t even think that sales and production will stop”although he clarified that if the situation continues for a few months “there could be a problem” of supply and demand.
In it Autoservice Pick & Out, which has some stores, bought 100 drums last Friday that were distributed among three branches. The order arrived this Wednesday and in one of the premises there were only 10 drums left on Thursday morning.
-I’m not going to warm my head. If there are no drums that drink water from the tap –commented the owner of another downtown autoservice and he said that he placed the order days ago and that they told him that it did not arrive “due to high demand.” He didn’t make it to the Kinko either, which is a few blocks away and none of those were in stock.
In TaTa the refrigerators had bottled water: 10 Salus sparkling water of 2.25 liters and another 10 of 1.5 liters. In turn, there were nine sleeves with more 2.25-liter bottles and two more open cases in a practically empty gondola.
Maria Eugenia Scognamiglio
Bottled water aisle almost empty
In the smaller shops there were also bottles of water. The “rage” is for the drums, said a storekeeper, because the stock of bottled water of fewer liters has not finished yet and there were in all the downtown shops that he visited The Observer. However, in supermarket gondolas and in refrigerators, the decrease in the number of bottles available is noticeable.
some supermarkets They limited the number of drums that each client can carry. However, that decision depends on each business because it was not a union decision of the Association of Supermarkets of Uruguay (ASU), explained the member Daniel Menéndez.
Ines Guimaraens
Some businesses limited the number of drums
However, Menéndez explained that the measure can respond to the tasks of replacing the products: “If someone comes and empties the gondola you have to be with two people replenishing water all day“, said.
The measures taken to access bottled water
Both the government and the Municipality of Montevideo announced measures to make it easier for some sectors of the population to access bottled water to avoid consuming OSE water.
The Ministry of Social Development (Mides) will deliver the cost equivalent to two liters of water per day to children under two years of age who receive allowances from the Equity Plan, to pregnant women who receive family allowances and to members of the Mides chronic illness plan. Everyone will receive the game through the Uruguay Social card.
In addition, the MSP will deliver water for 30 days to people who have chronic kidney failure and people with cirrhosis that are under treatment of the National Resource Fund.
In turn, the Municipality of Montevideo negotiate with Cambadu can deliver free bottled water in different shops in the capital to those people who have a prescription issued in municipal polyclinics.
“We think we have to do it, our intention is that it does not affect the warehouses, so we hope to close an agreement with Cambadu“said Cosse. This measure will be maintained for 45 dayssaid the mayor.
