Offices sent workers home early, housing societies enforced nine-hour water cuts, and Western Railway reported a 20 per cent shortfall at key stations on Monday, as the Mumbai Water Tankers Association (MWTA) went on indefinite strike, deepening a water crisis the city is already facing due to a 10 per cent BMC cut amid depleting lake stocks.
At Andheri East’s Marol Plaza, which has five commercial buildings, at least 12 offices sent employees home early. Deepak Dhole, technical manager of Sahar Plaza, said the complex depends on 10-15 tankers daily for over 450 workers.
“We are heavily dependent on 10-15 tankers daily to cater to demand as over 450 people work in the premises. Now with the tanker strike, the offices are compelled to implement work from home. This directly impacts the peons and sanitation staff as their wages get impacted,” Dhole said.
At Kanakia Rainforest in Marol, a 600-flat complex across 10 buildings, a nine-hour water cut was enforced on Monday. Resident Manoj Ganguli said the society had already been procuring 20 tankers a day to cope with the BMC cut.
Water tankers are parked at a service road beside Western Express Highway as Mumbai Water Tanker Association (MWTA) has announced an indefinite strike from midnight on June 07, at Vile Parle East in Mumbai on 08 June 2026. (Express photo by Sankhadeep Banerjee)
“For the last four days, we have been procuring as many as 20 water tankers owing to the water cut by BMC. Now, as the strike of water tankers commenced, our problem has worsened. We have imposed a water cut for five hours during the night while another four-hour water cut is being imposed between 1 am and 5 am,” Ganguli said.
At a high-rise near Malad’s Infinity Mall, resident Ashish Gupta said his 204-flat building already receives only 60 per cent of its water supply from BMC.
“Our building comprises 204 flats and even without a water cut, we receive only 60 per cent of total water supply. For the rest of the 40 per cent, we have to rely on the water tankers. While we managed today, if this strike persists, we may face an acute water crisis within the next two days,” Gupta said.
Railways, project sites hit
Western Railway reported a 20 per cent water shortfall at key stations including Bandra Terminus, Mumbai Central and Dadar. The shortage has forced the railway to shift train watering activities to Surat and Valsad, while coach-washing has been temporarily suspended.
Two major BMC infrastructure projects, the Coastal Road (North) and the Goregaon-Mulund Link Road, also felt the pinch, though civic officials said the impact on day one was minimal. Tanker water is used during concrete pouring in excavation work, and BMC is set to begin tunnel excavation this month. “If the strike continues then the problem may intensify further,” a civic official said.
Why the strike
The MWTA walked off after the state government’s Tehsildar’s office began issuing notices to well owners and borewell operators asking them to stop supplying water to tankers and obtain a fresh licence from the Central Ground Water Authority (CGWA). Under CGWA guidelines, a licence is issued only if the well sits on a land parcel of at least 200 square metres, and only one tanker can fill water from a single well. More than 300 operators have received notices so far.
MWTA spokesperson Ankur Sharma said the association has had no response from the administration despite writing to it on May 28.
“We had written to the administration on May 28, demanding their intervention. So far, more than 300 tank operators have received notices from the Tehsildar’s office. Therefore, we have been compelled to take our vehicles off the road. Our demand is that the administration should assure us that no action will be taken against us. However, we are yet to hear from them regarding an appointment,” Sharma said.
The MWTA has written to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Mayor Ritu Tawde and Municipal Commissioner Ashwini Bhide demanding a meeting. BMC officials said the matter involves the state government and the Union ministry, limiting what the civic body can do unilaterally. “If the government allows BMC to invoke the disaster control act and take over all the tankers, then we will do so. This is a sensitive situation when the entire city is looming under a water crisis and in these situations, such strikes aren’t accepted,” a senior official said.
Water tankers are parked at a service road beside Western Express Highway as Mumbai Water Tanker Association (MWTA) has announced an indefinite strike from midnight on June 07, at Vile Parle East in Mumbai on 08 June 2026. (Express photo by Sankhadeep Banerjee) 
Water tankers are parked at a service road beside Western Express Highway as Mumbai Water Tanker Association (MWTA) has announced an indefinite strike from midnight on June 07, at Vile Parle East in Mumbai on 08 June 2026. (Express photo by Sankhadeep Banerjee)
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