While Karnataka wants to divert water from the basin what came up was the stunning revelation that farmers and villagers of Kankumbi too are against the Kalsa project, which they feel is of no use to them and has done them more harm than good.
Kankumbi, a village 40 kms from Belgavi and about 35 kms from Sanquelim, was famously known for rice cultivation. However, the place has now become a bone of contention with the Karnataka government bent on the diversion of the Mhadei River to the Malaprabha basin for drinking and irrigation purposes.
But since the case is in the inter-state tribunal, there is a status quo on the project and the diversion, which was, as Goa says, illegally done by Karnataka.
Farmers of Karnataka are distressed over the fact that large tracts of agricultural land are being acquired without providing proper compensation, thereby depriving them of their livelihood.
The Karnataka Government has acquired more than five hectares of land. The farmers claim that they were not aware of at what market the land was acquired and how it was decided.
Farmer Madhav Gaude says, “We have sacrificed our land for a meagre compensation of just Rs 5,000. We neither have any employment avenue nor any other source of income. We are now helpless.”
Villagers feel that the controversy is inconveniencing the villagers as many of youth work in Goa in Sanquelim, Bicholim or Mapusa and totally depend on Goa for their needs.
Nandakishore Gawade, Dy sarpanch of Kankumbi village panchayat, who himself is a victim of the Kalsa canal diversion says “the work started in the agriculture land belonging to my family and no compensation has been paid to them.”
“This was our only livelihood and they have just taken away our land without compensating us or even informing us,” he lamented.
