P B Ramamurthy, BWSSB chairman told reporters on the sidelines of an interactive meet organised by the Federation of Karnataka Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FKCCI) that he has asked the government to increase the water prices in proportion to the recent hike in power tariffs.

BWSSB is among the largest consumers of power and annually pays around Rs 260 crore as electricity bill to Bescom, which is 51 per cent of its annual expenditure.

Further, a hike in water prices would also help the board to meet its deficit of Rs 45.97 crore.

“Our annual expenditure is on power is expected to touch 60 per cent due to the power tariff hike. That is the reason why we are pushing for a water price hike,” the BWSSB chairman said.

Earlier in his address, the BWSSB chairman noted that due to the declining water level in the reservoirs, the present water shortage in the city is 300 million litres per day (MLD).

He said water level at T G Halli reservoir, the main water source, had dipped by 13 feet compared to last year and the situation is bound to worsen.

The BWSSB will soon introduce a 24/7 call centre for consumer issues.