Kullu water woes: Manual billing returns, bills skyrocket

Residents of Kullu town have been forced to return to manual water billing for the October-December quarter after the Jal Shakti Department suspended its online payment facility, introduced just last year in May. Consumers must now collect printed bills and physically visit the Assistant Engineer’s office near Dhalpur to pay water and sewerage dues — reversing a brief phase of digital convenience.

Advertisement

With the online portal offline, households are experiencing long queues within a limited cash payment window — from 10 am to 1.30 pm on working days. Once bills are issued, consumers have just 10 days to pay or face a 9.5 per cent penalty. Many complain that this tight deadline disrupts work, family responsibilities and daily routines.

Further adding to residents’ frustration, the department has introduced steep tariff hikes. The rate for consumption under 20,000 litres has jumped from Rs 13.86 to Rs 19.30 per 1,000 litres — a 39 per cent increase. Usage between 20,000 and 30,000 litres is now charged at Rs 33.28 per 1,000 litres, while consumption beyond 30,000 litres is billed at Rs 59.90. On top of this, a 30 per cent sewerage fee continues to apply, significantly inflating household bills.

For instance, a family using about 1,500 litres per day now faces a monthly bill of roughly Rs 2,102, including sewerage charges. Doubling usage to 3,000 litres pushes the amount to nearly Rs 5,606. Several residents have reported shockingly high bills for just a few months of consumption under the new tariff structure.

SDO Ankit Bisht of the Jal Shakti Department explained that while the rate hike was approved in September, the online billing system failed to reflect the updated slabs, making it unusable. He said the previous rates had been unchanged since 2018 and the new rates reflect typical annual increases. He assured that the online system will be restored once technical issues are resolved.

Cases of billing errors are also emerging. Neha, a resident, received a Rs 4,750 bill for 115 units for the October-December period, only to discover a meter reading of just 13 units from January to June. The discrepancy was acknowledged and corrected by officials. Another resident, Maya, said she is being forced to consider separate water connections for her tenants, as the current setup has become financially unmanageable.

Kunal, another local, questioned the logic behind such steep hikes, pointing out that Kullu’s gravity-fed water system requires no electricity or pumps. He recalled water bills tripling after the initial installation of meters — and this latest jump feels even more severe. Abhishek, another resident, said while rural areas continue paying flat rates, Kullu’s urban consumers are being unfairly burdened. He argued that tariffs should reflect local water availability and actual supply costs, not become a source of profit.

Amid growing dissatisfaction, residents are urging the department to urgently restore the online payment system, extend billing hours and implement a phased rollout of new tariffs to ease the financial burden. With winter approaching and water demand set to rise, locals hope the department balances revenue goals with public welfare.