In a major relief for residents of Mumbai, the Mumbai Water Tanker Association (MWTA) on Monday called off its indefinite strike, bringing an end to a four-day-long disruption in water supply that had impacted thousands across the city.

The association had halted operations on April 10 in protest against the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) issuance of notices to private well owners who supply water to the tanker network. The sudden strike left several residential societies, construction projects, railway premises, and commercial establishments scrambling for alternative water sources.

The deadlock was resolved after a meeting between MWTA representatives and BMC Commissioner Bhushan Gagrani. The meeting was arranged following mediation by Shiv Sena MLA Murji Patel, who stepped in on Sunday to facilitate dialogue between the aggrieved tanker operators and municipal authorities.

During the meeting, the BMC assured the MWTA that all previously issued notices would be kept on hold and that no fresh notices would be sent to water suppliers in the near future. The MWTA acknowledged the move as a positive gesture and decided to resume normal operations with immediate effect.

According to the association, the bone of contention was the BMC’s enforcement of compliance norms under the revised guidelines of the Central Ground Water Authority (CGWA), which mandated water suppliers to obtain a no-objection certificate (NOC) before continuing operations. The MWTA, which operates nearly 1,800 tankers supplying approximately 350 million litres of water per day, cited the new norms as being overly stringent and difficult to comply with on short notice.