PANJIM: Officials of Water Resources Department (WRD) and environmentalists who had gone to watch the joint inspection of the Mhadei water diversion at Kankumbhi were allegedly threatened and abused by the Karnataka police on Friday.
However, the three-member joint committee comprising superintendent engineers of Goa, Karnataka and Maharashtra carried out joint inspection of the Kalasa-Bhaduri project as per the directives of the Supreme Court.
What was annoying for the Goa WRD officials and environmentalists was that the senior officials of Karnataka WRD too joined the inspection.
The Karnataka police prevented WRD engineers Agnelo Fernandes and Bipin Karapurkar, and environmentalists and Mhadei Bachao Abhiyan (MBA) secretary Rajendra Kerkar from going near the site and forcibly took their identity cards and made them to wait for almost one-hour at Kankumbhi. It was only after WRD assistant engineer Dilip Naik protested, the Karnataka police returned their identity cards.
When contacted, Rajendra Kerkar said that he had gone to the site since there was no restriction for visiting the site. “I had gone to Kankumbhi to see the inspection process and in the past I had gone there when Mhadei Disputes Tribunal visited. The Karnataka police recognised me, asked me to remove my face mask, used abusive language and then snatched my identity card and camera,” Kerkar said condemning the incident.
Some of the media persons from Goa who had gone to Kankumbhi were also prevented by the Karnataka police, he said.
Kerkar alleged that prior to the joint inspections, the officials of the three States met at the Inspection Bungalow at Kankumbhi where Indian Institute of Sciences, Bangaluru, hydrologist Rama Prasad made a “false” power-point presentation claiming that there was no diversion of Mhadei water.
Karnataka WRD chief engineer Srinivas and Karnataka Neeravari Nigam Limited managing director Mallikarjun were also present during the presentation though they did not accompany the joint monitoring team, Kerkar said.
In the afternoon, the joint team comprising superintendent engineers M K Prasad (Goa), Krishnaji Rao (Karnataka) and Vijay Kumar Thorat (Maharashtra) later visited three sites – Parwad and Kalasa basin; Cross Regulator at Kankumbhi and one of the openings of water flowing from Kalasa to Malaprabha basin – and returned to the Inspection Bungalow, where they were closeted in preparing the report, which will be submitted to the Supreme Court latest by April 5.
When contacted, WRD chief engineer Shrikant Patil said that he was yet to receive any information from his officers. “We have nominated superintendent engineer M K Prasad and have also sent 4-5 officers to Kankumbhi. But I am yet to get any information as their mobile phones are also unreachable,” he said.
Chief Minister Dr Pramod Sawant has condemned the incident of abusing and insulting WRD officials at Kankumbhi by Karnataka police. He said that the visit was official and added that Karnataka’s sinister plans would be exposed following joint inspection.
Condemning the incident, Goa Forward Party working president Kiran Kandolkar demanded that the Chief Minister should immediately call up his counterpart in Karnataka and register a protest.
“On the 2nd anniversary of Pramod Sawant government, Karnataka police attack and insult our WRD officials and environmentalist Kerkarbab. Chief Minister Pramod Sawant is quiet as he sold #MotherMhadei. He has betrayed the people of Goa,” Kandolkar tweeted.
