Irrigation, fishing, navigation, transportation at stake
TEAM HERALD
teamherald@herald-goa.com
PANJIM: Some prognosticate that future wars between nations may be fought over water. There is lot of friction between states in India over river water and several of them are locked in disputes over inter-State waters. At present Goa too is facing a virtual assault from its big neighbours, Maharashtra and Karnataka, who are planning to divert water flowing into Goa, which could seriously affect the flow of the Mandovi river as we know it today.
The Mhadei river known as the Mandovi originates in Karnataka, but 56 of its 77 km stretch lies in Goa. The river is the lifeline of the State and is used for irrigation, fishing, navigation, transportation domestic and industrial use, conservation of flora and fauna, for sediment flushing and to prevent salinity intrusion, both in the river and also in the aquifer.
Any reduction in its waters will also decimate the areas covered by Wildlife Sanctuaries and national parks and result in destroying the surrounding forests, ironically within Karnataka and Maharashtra since the whole area is one contiguous belt of forests and wilderness.
Karnataka is planning on diverting water from the Mhadei basin to the Malaprabha basin. Now Maharashtra is also planning on diverting waters of the Valvanti River (tributary of River Mhadei) at the source by diverting the water flow from the Kattika Nalla at Virdi into the adjoining Basin of the Tillari River.
According to Goa government, the Virdi Minor Irrigation Project which is basically a diversion of water to an outside basin will result in complete ecological disaster and destroy flora, fauna, hills, ghat, plains and predominant marine life including mangroves and other species and allow entry of salt water into Goa to intrude further in and reduce the effective catchment area and also reduce ground water recharge and result in increased intrusion of salt water in the aquifer.
Goa has argued at all forums that it has the benefit of the only Mandovi River and its tributaries and the projects of both Karnataka and Maharashtra would result in the flow of the river being curtailed, hampered or stopped, virtually strangulating the lifeline of the State.
Tourism and fishing are both heavily dependent upon the Mhadei and
any tampering or tinkering wit its flow will have serious effects not only tourism and survival of the people along its banks.
Also the maintenance of salinity levels is essential for various purposes including agriculture and traditional practices and large scale erosion is bound to result if there are changes in the salinity levels and if the flow of water from the catchment areas situated within Maharashtra are tampered with.
