GUJRAT: Car washers have enhanced prices of their services following the Water and Sanitation Agency (Wasa) started charging bills from service stations.

Already under immense burden due to rise in prices of petroleum products, motorists in Gujrat will now have to pay more for wash of their vehicles.

According to the increased ratio of the prices at service stations, simple body wash of a car has now been increased up to Rs500 from Rs350 whereas full service is now being charged up to Rs1,000 from Rs700.

Similarly, the rates of washing motorbikes and big jeeps have also been increased.

Owners of car wash stations say they are compelled to enhance the charges for their services after Wasa started sending them a hefty amount of bills on a monthly basis as prior to the establishment of the agency, there had been no such charges imposed on their businesses.

He said service stations had been receiving monthly bills of up to Rs25,000 for the last couple of months after which it became hard for them to sustain due to the decreasing margin.

However, a senior Wasa official told Dawn Rs13,500 fixed monthly bill had been imposed on car washers and up to Rs7,000 on petrol stations and in case of a joint business places like adjacent petrol and car wash stations, the bill stood at Rs20,000 to 21,000 per month.

Adding, he said, small washing stations who did not have the lifters or other mechanical stuff, would be charged up to Rs8,000 per month.

He said the government had been planning to make it mandatory for the car washers to install water recycling units at their places in future to control the wastage of precious resource of water which the service station usually did not care for.

Published in Dawn, April 30th, 2026