Food and water remain essential during any train journey. However, passengers should stay alert to illicit vendors selling uncertified local brands, spurious packaged drinking water, or even branded bottles refilled with unhygienic tap water. In a recent case, railway authorities at Sultanpur station in Uttar Pradesh received information about unauthorised water being transported in coach number 12237 (Begampura Express).
During an inspection, 12 crates of unauthorised packaged water were recovered and offloaded. The official X handle of Lucknow Division, Northern Railway, shared the update on May 18, 2026, adding that prompt action was taken "to ensure passenger safety and quality".
A closer look at the bottles revealed the label 'Bellery', a mimic of the well-known packaged water brand Bisleri.
This is not the first instance of counterfeit Bisleri variants being seized.
In May last year, food safety officials confiscated 13,076 litres of fake packaged drinking water and sealed two units in Gautam Buddha Nagar, Uttar Pradesh. According to officials, the units were operating without valid FSSAI licences. The counterfeit water was sold under misleading labels such as 'Bilseri' and 'Blesri'.
Earlier, in a more unusual case, an X user spotted a bottle labelled "Bestie" instead of Bisleri. Sharing the image, the user wrote, "We've reached the end of Bisleri permutations."
While such counterfeit names may seem amusing, the risks of consuming unauthorised water are serious. Contaminated water can lead to acute health issues within hours or days. Common symptoms include severe vomiting, diarrhoea, abdominal cramps and dehydration. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), contaminated water is linked to the transmission of several life-threatening diseases.