Move to collect water dues in Bahrain

Manama: Bahrain’s prime minister has urged the collection of overdue water and electricity bills as arrears have topped 140 million dinars (Dh1,363 million).

Collection of the due amounts should start with the industrial, commercial and tourism sectors and then with well-to-do families, Prince Khalifa Bin Salman Al Khalifa said as he was briefed about the situation at a work meeting.

Appropriate measures should be taken to ensure that the state’s due rights are maintained while humanitarian cases are taken into consideration while collecting the fees, the prime minister was quoted as telling electricity and water officials by Bahrain News Agency (BNA).

Bahrain subsidies water by more than 80 per cent and electricity by 60 per cent, costing the state more than 250 million dinars annually, officials said.

Around 15,000 low-income families are included in a special programme run by the state to help the needy.