‘This isn’t about us; govt should realise families and projects are suffering’

The situation is such that we had no option but to cease our operationsrdquo said Ajit Patil the owner of the Bhandupbased Manthan Aqua ldquoThis business has been running for two generations I come from a family of farmers native to Bhanduprdquo he addedSpeaking about the losses he is incurring amid the strike by water tanker operators Patil who owns a borewell and six tankers said ldquoWe have to pay our taxes as well as tanker drivers even though they are not plying their vehicles They are working for us so we need to provide their salaries But this issue is not limited to us This is about water After our operations stopped the impact could be seen on infrastructure projects as well as citizensrdquoJitu Shah the owner of Visha Transport and Water Supplies at his office in Ghatkopar on FridayHe added that a few clauses to receive nonobject certificates from the Central Ground Water Authority CGWA were impractical in a city like Mumbai ldquoWe need to pay Rs 150 in advance for every tanker that uses our water daily to the CGWA This burden is indirectly shouldered by common customersrdquo he saidldquoWe cater to many residential buildings that do not get sufficient water This means we are providing water to places where the BMC Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation cant reach This situation needs to be understood by the authorities Many a time I provide water to state government offices free of cost as well as fire brigaderdquo he added There should be a practical solution that can be followed in Mumbai The authority must understand the situationrdquo he said The 1800 water tankers that operate in the city provide water to more than 27 state and Union government organisationslsquoClients are callingrsquoVijay Sargar a tanker driver who works for Patil said ldquoIrsquove been working in Mumbai for nearly 15 years Though we have ceased operations our boss assured us we will be paid My employer is shouldering a financial burden The government should understand Many clients are calling us continuously Many families are sufferingrdquoJitu Shah of Visha Transport and Water Supplies which has been in business since 1971 said ldquoIn 2023 when the same issue arose our operations were stopped for six days Later the state government intervened and the issue was resolved But this March it came up again Why is this happening in Mumbai only No one from other cities is getting such licences In 2016 we held a strike against the BMC At the time senior officials confirmed that we provide water where BMC canrsquotrdquolsquoA seasonal businessrsquoldquoSee this is an issue not only related to us Look at how many infrastructure and private redevelopment projects are underway All of these will be affected by the strike Our business is seasonal During the summer demand for tanker water rises for infra projects as well as in housing societies People think we are minting money but we are providing an essential commodityrdquo Shah added We never charge high to the peoplerdquo he said ldquoEven though our tankers are not running we still need to pay taxes and salaries to employees Think about the small operators who canrsquot face situations such as theserdquo Shah addedldquoWe have tried to register with the CGWA but its website is not working properly There should be something that is possible Notices were only issued in Mumbai but the CGWA does not have any representatives in Mumbai with whom we can talkrdquo he added ldquoPeople think we are taking money for water but they should realise we need to pay to use tankers and hand over money to well owners We are providing water not only for projects but to housing societies They are also suffering nowrdquo he statedatOptionskeyd0ddb8ef8f1a62a8cdd22fac27fc5ea7formatiframeheight90width728params