BJP corporators protest hike in water tariff

The corporators of Bharatiya Janata Party staged a protest on Monday demanding the State government and Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) to roll back the recent hike in water tariff.

The corporators, led by former deputy chief minister R Ashoka raised slogans against Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and condemned the State government for being “indifferent” towards City residents.

“It is high time the chief minister wakes up. Else, the Congress will be wiped out from Karnataka. The BWSSB claims that there is only 45 per cent of water leakage. However, around 65 per cent of water is being wasted. The government should take measures to plug the leakage instead of allowing the BWSSB increase water tariff,” Ashoka said.

Dasarahalli MLA S Muniraju, who took part in the protest, maintained that the hike was unscientific and that the government should focus on plugging the leakage.

Leader of the ruling party in the BBMP Council, N R Ramesh and other BJP corporators submitted a memorandum to the BWSSB Engineer-in-Chief T Venkataraju requesting him to roll back the hike.

The hour-long protest held in front of the BWSSB head office at Cauvery Bhavan, slowed down traffic near Mysore Bank signal and other junctions in the vicinity. Around 300 police personnel were deployed to maintain law and order.