Copasa reportedly interrupted supply to Frutal during the pandemic | Photo: Pixabay/Disclosure
The Minas Gerais Sanitation Company (Copasa) was fined R$ 171 thousand by Procon-MG. The punishment, according to the agency, was motivated by several interruptions in the water supply that allegedly occurred in Frutal, in the Triângulo Mineiro, in the years 2019, 2020 and 2021. The decision was made by the 5th Public Prosecutor’s Office of the District of Frutal.
The sentence states that water supply failures affected a large proportion of the city’s residents.. Citizens would have suffered harm, including during the Covid-19 pandemic, when experts recommended washing their hands as one of the ways to prevent the disease. Also according to Procon-MG, the problems generated popular demonstrations – with potholes and burning tires in the streets – in addition to motivating discussions in the executive and legislative branches about the possibility of terminating the contract with the company.
Procon-MG argued that the conduct attributed to Copasa disrespects the Consumer Protection Code and Federal Law 8,987, of 1995. The texts talk about granting and permitting the provision of public services. Also according to Procon, during the process, proposals for a consensual resolution of the conflict were sent to Copasa, but the company did not respond.
When questioned by the report, Copasa responded that it does not comment on processes under discussion.
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