BENGALURU: If you fail to pay your monthly water bills, you will end up paying a little extra as the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board will be levying interest on the bill amount. In some areas, defaulters have already received the June bill with interest, which has been issued to them in July.
The government had announced a waiver of interest on unpaid bills for two months as people remained indoors due to the pandemic. Engineer-in-Chief Kemparamaiah told The New Indian Express, “The interest is in line with the BWSSB Act. During April and May, when many consumers could not pay their bills due to the lockdown, we would have levied an interest of Rs 1.26 crore, but the government asked us to waive the interest,” he said.
The waiver will not be applicable from June, and the bills need to be paid in July or later, he added. “BangaloreOne centres which were shut earlier have opened now. We are also encouraging people to switch to online payment completely,” he said. The interest amount works out to 20% per annum. “The interest for the months not paid will reflect in the bills issued,” he added.
Pay your bills online
BWSSB’s official website (www.bwssb.gov.in) specifies that water meter readings of all consumers and payment can be made through it. ‘BWSSB Payment App’ is also available and Quick Pay can be made through this app. Payment can also be made through Paytm, Phone Pe, Google Pay etc.
KauVery Bhavan 2nd floor shuts
After a technical engineer in the Technical Assistant section of the Maintenance department tested positive, the second floor of Kauvery Bhavan, where all the BWSSB offices are located, was shut from Monday. “It is expected to reopen on July 27 after the floor is sanitised fully. As many as 18 staffers have been advised to be home quarantined,” said Kemparamaiah. Another engineer at Shimsha Bhavan too tested positive forcing the closure of that office.