Staff Reporter :
The Water Supply and Sewerage Authority has decided to raise water bills for residential and commercial users in Dhaka and Chattogram for a second time in a span of six months.
The price of each unit (1,000 litres) of water supplied to households will see a rise by 24.97 per cent to Tk 14.46 in Dhaka, while the price of each unit water for commercial users to go up by 7.99 per cent to Tk 40.
In Chattogram, the per unit tariff for residential water supply will go up by 25 per cent to Tk 12.40t. Commercial users will have to pay Tk 30.30 for each unit, marking a 9.94 percent increase.
The Local Government Department approved the proposed tariff hikes in an order issued on Feb 26.
The new rates will come into effect from March 1, meaning water bills will climb from April.
Dhaka WASA confirmed the move in a circular published on Friday.
The water tariff was previously increased on Sept 1 last year when it was set at Tk 10.50 for residential and Tk 33.60 for commercial usage.
The changes were announced a day after the energy regulator hiked retail electricity prices by Tk 0.36 or 5.3 percent to Tk 7.13 per unit.
The increase in the cost of utilities has sparked concerns about a potential hike in rents among citizens.
Lamenting the decision to raise water prices, Mir Mokabbir Hossain, a resident of Dhaka’s Kuril Bishwa Road, said, “Citizens are having to pay the price of the government’s failure to curb corruption.”
The tariff hike means that Mokabbir, who previously had to foot a water bill of about Tk 10,000 for his five-storey house, will now have to pay at least Tk 2,500 more.
“Where will I get this money from? We are being ripped off from all corners. We have to accept whatever’s imposed on us.”
Sheikh Mohammad Yasin, joint general secretary of the National Tenants’ Council, said landlords invariably raise rent whenever there is an increase in the price of one of the three utilities-water, electricity and gas.
“If for instance, the water bill rises by about 200-300 takas, landlords react by increasing rent by 500-1,000 takas. This is how it’s always been and it won’t change until rent is charged in accordance with a government chart. For this reason, there should be a law requiring tenants to pay utility bills separately.”
