Bengaluru, 5 October

KPCC Vice-President and Water Satyagraha founder SA Hussain has urged Chief Minister D K Shivakumar to provide relief to Bengaluru families bearing the rising cost of water amid the drought.

Hussain said Bengaluru required around 2,600 million litres of water a day but faced a shortfall of about 500 MLD, with nearly half its borewells dry and groundwater classified as over-exploited. Families are increasingly dependent on tankers, drinking water cans and purifiers, he said.

He pointed out that these households pay 18 per cent GST on water purifiers and 5 per cent on drinking water cans, besides paying for water itself. He sought relief on the State GST component for purifiers, filters and drinking water cans, with Karnataka taking up a full exemption at the GST Council.

Hussain also sought ward-wise regulation of tanker prices during the drought and regular water-quality testing, along with priority repairs of non-functional RO plants.

Thanking the government for supporting farmers, he cited the Rs 2,500 input subsidy for 45-50 lakh farmers, costing Rs 1,250 crore, the 12-month loan moratorium and extension of repayment from three to five years. He said 177 taluks had been declared drought-hit.