Team Herald
PANJIM: Besides plans of constructing 12 dams on various feeders of River Mhadei, along with diversion channels and canals, Karnataka has a plan to dam and divert the main feeders providing water to the Dudhsagar waterfall, environmentalist Rajendra Kerkar said, adding that the neighbouring State has proposed four dams and diversions of the waterfall.
Speaking at the awareness session on ‘Mhadei – the Lifeline’ organised by the Legislature Secretariat, Kerkar said Karnataka has proposed damns on Maranalla tributaries, Viranjole diversion and at Katla and Palna tributary. “Karnataka wants to divert the water from the waterfall to River Kali basin in Karwar,” he said.
Kerkar, who has been following Karnataka’s actions on water diversion for the last two decades, said the State had initially decided to build dams on the Katla and Palna tributaries of the Dudhsagar waterfalls in 1988, but were not constructed.
“The State claims that all these diversion schemes are necessary to meet the requirement of drinking water, whereas it has around 20 rivers flowing within having 1000 tmc of water, lying still unused,” the environmentalist noted.
Katla and Palna are two important perennial feeders of the Dudhsagar waterfalls that flow into the River Khandepar, joining River Mandovi (Mhadei) at Bimbal in Ponda. River Khandepar provides water to Goa’s Opa water treatment plant that supplies drinking water daily to Ponda and Tiswadi talukas.
“If these dams are constructed, then the Khandepar river and Sanquelim river will go dry thus further worsening the water woes of the people of North Goa,” Kerkar said adding ‘diversion of water from Mhadei river will make entire North Goa go complete dry’.
Responding to a question, Kerkar said that that the issue of providing or sharing drinking water with Karnataka’s drought prone areas does not arise, when Goa has made a submission that the Mhadei river basin is water deficit.
“Government should not compromise at this stage. Any sort of compromise, will hamper Goa’s case before the tribunal,” the Mhadei Bachaco Abhiyan secretary said, admitting that the government has made its stand clear before the tribunal that it will not allow any water diversion.
“Keeping elections in Karnataka in mind, if government went for any compromise, it will be detrimental (to Goa’s case),” he said.
Kerkar also took a dig at the past governments, blaming them of compromising the State’s interest in exchange of electricity. “Since 1972, our politicians were involved in having agreements with Karnataka and Maharashtra on water sharing in exchange of electricity. They had lack of knowledge,” he said.
Kerkar said that though the Mhadei Water Dispute Tribunal was set up in 2010, the first hearing took place only in 2012, after Manohar Parrikar took over as Chief Minister. He said that so far 100 hearings have taken place.
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Karnataka claims work at Kalsa was removal of debris
With Goa govt filing an Interlocutory Application before the Mhadei Water Disputes Tribunal pointing to gross violation by Karnataka, the neighbouring State has denied the accusation claiming the work at Kalsa-Bandura was actually ‘removal of debris’. The Karnataka Chief Secy’s letter to Goa CS Dharmendra Sharma countered the claim by Minister Vinod Palyekar and environmentalists that Karnataka’s activity – of violation of the Supreme Court order. “Karnataka CS has written to Goa CS denying any work at the Kalsa-Bandura project site near Kankumbi village. He has stated that they have not violated the SC order and the work claimed by Goa was actually removal of debris,” a top bureaucrat at Secretariat said. Meanwhile, the government has denied that fresh differences between Goa and Karnataka on the Mhadei issue are due to CM Manohar Parrikar’s letter to Karnataka BJP chief B S Yeddyurappa for discussions on water sharing. “The letter has not created any legal hurdle,” said a source.
