Bengaluru: After months of deliberation and mixed signals, the state govt implemented BWSSB water tariff hike, which took effect from April 1. Commercial establishments, including educational institutions, industries, hotels, and PGs across the city, have now received their first bills with the revised rates, and reactions have been sharp.They voiced strong concerns over the recent water tariff hike, with many reporting steep increases by four times in their monthly bills and no corresponding improvement in supply.Business owners say the hike added significant pressure to already tight operating margins, where water is essential to daily operations.As per the revised charges, bulk commercial and industrial consumers pay an additional 0.9 paise per litre, more than residential users. One of the common grievances raised was the uniform application of the tariff across all commercial users, regardless of the scale or nature of water usage.Arun Kumar DT, president of the PG Owners Welfare Association, said, “The 300% increase in the BWSSB Cauvery water bill for commercial use left all PG owners shocked upon seeing the bill. Since it’s summer, it’s an even bigger blow. This is not at all fair. We will be writing to the BWSSB to decrease or take some action on these high water charges.”**Quote Boxes**Mohan Reddy K, director of IQAC, CMR University”The steep hike in water tariffs increased our operational costs. To manage the impact, we’re adopting several conservation measures such as installing low-flow fixtures, auditing water usage to fix leaks promptly, and promoting responsible water use among staff and students. We’re also exploring rainwater harvesting to reduce dependency on BWSSB for possible relief. Still, the rising utility bills may force us to rework budgets, cut down on non-essential expenses, or consider fee revisions. We use more than 1,000 litres a day and hike as a whole, is actually a burden on us.”GK Shetty, president of Karnataka State Hotels Association”Hoteliers only provide free water and toilet facilities to public. This hike has come as a huge burden. We have seen bills jump. The 0.9 paise per litre, but indirect increase of 25% on sanitary charges, 25% on borewell charges in some places, and for smaller establishments, that’s a serious hit to operations. The operational expenditure keeps increasing, but our revenues don’t grow at the same pace.”Shivakumar R, president of Peenya Industries Association”We are only receiving water once every three days or sometimes weekly, and yet we’re being charged the same as large commercial establishments. Most of our units use very little water — some use just a drum a day. These are small units with five to ten workers, using water mainly for drinking and hygiene. We’ve been requesting BWSSB to classify industries separately from commercial entities and create a fair, independent tariff for industrial users. Our consumption is minimal, and it’s unreasonable to club us with hotels or malls”Ram Prasanth Manohar, chairman of BWSSBWe have considered all industries and sectors and imposed the hike. The same baseline requirements apply equally to commercial establishments, including industries and educational institutions. Additional charges will be levied for moderate to high usage, promoting equity and discouraging overuse. Box: Table for across all the slabs- For commercial users, hike ranges from 0.90 paise to 1.90 paise per litreFlat hike of 0.90 paise per litre for bulk usage- 0 – 10,000 litres: Increase of 1.00 paise per litre- 10,001 – 25,000 litres: Increase of 1.30 paise per litre- 25,001 – 50,000 litres: Increase of 1.50 paise per litre- 50,001 – 75,000 litres: Increase of 1.90 paise per litre- 75,001 – 1,00,000 litres: Increase of 1.10 paise per litre- Above 1,00,000 litres: Increase of 1.20 paise per litreSource: BWSSB notification