Water tankers’ strike: Will resume service only after govt officially amends rules by Central Ground Water Authority, say operators

On Friday (April 11), the BMC revoked the notices that were sent to the well owners asking them to obtain an immediate fresh licence from the CGWA, without which they can’t supply water to the tankers.

In its latest statement, the BMC said well owners can now supply water to tankers till June 15. The BMC’s move came after Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis urged the civic authorities to find a solution to the ongoing strike.

“This is not a permanent solution as the civic body is trying to buy time with this move. They know that after monsoon arrives in June, dependency on our tankers will not be as much and they will again start issuing notices and taking action against us. This is a tactical move that is being designed to disrupt the ongoing protest,” Ankur Sharma, spokesperson of MTWA told The Indian Express on Saturday.

In its latest set of guidelines, the CGWA has maintained that a new licence will be issued to a well owner only if the well is situated on a land parcel having a minimum size of 200 square metres. Besides this, only a single tanker can fill water from a well. The new guidelines also mandate that every well operator needs to set up a flow meter for recording the flow of water.

The MWTA said that they will call off their protest only if the state government remove the clauses stipulated by CGWA and immediately remove the penalities that have been levied on the operators.

“The chief minister, Mumbai’s municipal commissioner along with the pest control officer will have to assure us in person as well as in writing that no action will be taken against our members. Then only will we call of our strike,” said Sharma.

Infra works hit, citizens affected

Meanwhile, for the third day in a row, infrastructure works as well as residents continued to bear the brunt.

Civic officials said the road concretisation work in many parts of Mumbai has taken a hit, considering the stoppage in supply of non-potable water. This comes at a time when nearly 500km of Mumbai’s roads are entirely dug up for concretisation and authorities are racing against time to finish the work by May 31.

“The ready-to-mix concrete plants have not received water for the past two days. Even though some of these plants are in Thane, even they depend on the water from the Mumbai tankers. As a result, we have stopped concrete production for the last two days,” said an official.

Citizens too were affected by the scarcity of water. Several commercial establishments in BKC, MIDC, Andheri and Goregaon (East) have mandated work-from-home (WFH), considering the water crisis.

“In commercial spaces, the larger quantum of supply comes from water tankers. The non-potable water is treated through RO and is later used for potable purposes. Considering there was no supply for the past three days, now offices have told their employees to work from home. This is also affecting business and productivity massively,” said a manager of a commercial space in Andheri.

Dharmendra Dubey, a resident of Mulund, said, “Currently, the BMC has already imposed a water cut. Therefore, residents have no option but to buy water from outside. Private sellers are charging water at exorbitant rates. The government needs to intervene now.”

Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA from Worli Aaditya Thackeray on Saturday announced a citywide protest if the government doesn’t solve the issue in the next 48 hours.

“For the past 3 days, on prior notice, the water tanker association has called for a strike as the bjp’s union govt has imposed impractical rules on them. The Chief Minister or the govt run @mybmc should have got to work, and provided Mumbaikars with the water we needed. Yet, till date, the CM hasn’t intervened…and has let Mumbaikars suffer for 3 days. The @ShivSenaUBT_ will lead morchas to every ward office of the BMC if the issue isn’t resolved positively by the Govt/ BMC in 48 hours,” said Aaditya in a post on X.