MAPUSA
Agriculture Minister Ravi Naik reiterated his outlandish demand of exporting water from Goa to the Gulf countries in exchange for fuel.
Naik, on Tuesday, also said that in future the world will face shortage of water and stressed the need of conserving water by building dams.
“If we can store water in Goa by building dams, we can send the water to other parts of the country and even export it to foreign countries. Arabs need water. We can tell them, take this water and give us oil,” Naik said.
The Agriculture Minister was speaking at a function in Ponda where WRD Minister Subhash Shirodkar and senior department officials were also present.
Continuing, Naik said that in times to come water will be as precious as gold and diamond.
He also said that in future the entire world will face water shortage which will lead to fights.
“The demand for water will rise significantly. There will be fights in the world for water and so we should work to conserve rainwater,” the agriculture minister said.
He further said the State receives almost 120 inches of water which can be stored appropriately and utilized for the benefit of the country.
Incidentally, this is the second time the minister has been making the claim of exporting water to foreign countries in exchange for fuel.
Almost a month back, Naik, told reporters that some companies could be asked to build dams in between the hills in the state and the water stored in them could be exported.
Ironically, parts of Goa have been facing water shortage and several locals in the past staged protests against erratic water supply.
