Goa Forward Party (GFP) President Vijai Sardesai has raised serious concerns that Goa could “forever” lose Mhadei to Karnataka if the State government fails to act promptly.
On his visit to the Mhadei basin along with Environmentalist Rajendra Kerkar on Thursday, Sardesai said that the government has failed to respond to a recent development by Karnataka while flashing photographs of fresh work being carried out by Goa’s neighbouring state to divert Mhadei water.
“Karnataka had already completed the survey and soil testing work of the Kalasa project. The Mhadei Water Disputes Tribunal has allowed Karnataka to divert water from Kalasa, Bhandura only after obtaining necessary clearances from the central government authorities concerned. However, Karnataka is playing numerous tricks to fulfil its target of diverting tributaries of Mhadei,” added Sardesai.
He appealed to Chief Minister Pramod Sawant to take up the matter seriously. “Else Goa will lose Mhadei forever and Goans will have to starve for water,” Sardesai further said. He was accompanied by GFP Vice President Dilip Prabhudesai, Deepak Kalangutkar and General Secretary Durgadas Kamat.
GFP leader Durgadas Kamat warned that if Goa failed to stop Karnataka from diverting Kalasa, Bhandura and Haltara nullahs into the Malprabha basin, it would causing irreparable environmental and ecological damage to Goa.
“Our small state is ecologically fragile and there is a need to allow freshwater into the Arabian Sea to sustain our ecology. Any damming and diversion initiatives will threaten Goa,” he said.
Earlier this month, Karnataka began soil testing for the Kalasa Bandura project, which is 500m from Goa’s borders.
Sardesai had then questioned the failure of the government to respond to the development and dared Sawant to “at least conduct an inspection of the site and stop the ongoing work, or else admit clear-cut that in order to save your chair, you sold Mhadei, the lifeline of Goa, to Karnataka.”
