PANJIM: Karnataka even after not receiving any permissions from the National Board of Wildlife has excavated nearly 5 km channel, to divert the a water from Kalasa Nala to Malaprabhaaa basain, in violation of the status quo. Activists, who have visited the sites in Kankumbi, have warned that they have seen this activity undertaken by Karnataka, despite the 2017 assurance given by its Senior Counsel in Supreme Court.
Activists have also raised a red flag that if the Water Resources Department and the Goa Government is not serious about the issue, Goa will face serious problems including a looming water crisis in the future, since Mhadei is the lifeline of the entire State.
In the petition of Mhadei Bachao Abhiyan in 2a017, Karnataka’s Senior Counsel late Fali Nariman had assured that no construction was going on at Kankumbi then and no construction would be carried out in the future.
Environmentalist Rajendra Kerkar who visited the site at Kankumbi pointed out, “After that Karnataka did not carry out any major construction, but they continued with the excavation work, they continued with such type of construction that could facilitate the transfer of Kalaasa water into the Malaprabha basin. So presently this is the situation as far as the Mhadei issue is concerned.”
Asked as to what steps the Goa government should take, Kerkar elucidated, “Unless and until the Water Resources Department of Goa is serious about the issue, we will face lots of problems. Goa government should take the issue seriously, if they want to protect the present and the future of the State. A large number of people of Goa get drinking water only through this river. If we want to make our future certain, the protection and conservation of water bodies such as Mandovi river basin and its tributaries is very important and essential for the State of Goa.”
