Mumbai: After four days of dry taps and growing public anxiety, the Mumbai Water Tankers Association (MWTA) has officially called off its indefinite strike following a crucial meeting with Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) Administrator Bhushan Gagrani on Monday, April 14.
Rajesh Thakur, General Secretary of the MWTA, confirmed the development, stating, “The strike has been withdrawn and water supply from all private tankers has resumed with immediate effect.”
The MWTA had launched the strike on April 10 in protest against notices issued to owners of borewells and ring wells, which demanded compliance with the stringent 2020 guidelines of the Central Ground Water Authority (CGWA). These rules require water source owners to secure a no-objection certificate (NOC) for extraction—a condition the association termed impractical under current urban infrastructure constraints.
“Our demand was never just about pausing the notices. We wanted them cancelled. The BMC has now assured us that no new notices will be issued, and the current ones are being reconsidered,” Thakur said, emphasizing that the association’s primary concern was ensuring uninterrupted water access for Mumbai residents.
During the four-day strike, approximately 3,000 private tankers, which usually supply around 300 million litres of water daily, were taken off the roads. The shortage affected a wide cross-section of Mumbai, from high-end housing complexes and corporate towers to densely populated slums, hospitals, and construction sites.
The breakthrough came after Shiv Sena leader and MLA Murji Patel intervened over the weekend and facilitated dialogue between the MWTA and BMC officials.
