This is in response to the front page news report ' Selaulim dam height: Greens see red' (TGE, Mar. 22). The decision of the Goa govt to raise the height of the Selaulim dam and to build 4 more dams across the state, to augment Goa's depleted drinking water needs, comes a day not too soon, especially at a time when plans are afoot by the Karnataka govt to divert the waters of Mhadei river to the Malprabha basin. On the face of it, there appears to be little option left for the Goa govt , given that the existing dams in Goa have reached their optimum levels. However, in view of the apprehensions expressed by the environmentalists , a proper study will have to be done by the Goa govt before the start of the proposed projects to ensure that there is no submergence of the surrounding areas, no loss of property and life, people are not displaced, ecology and wild life are protected, etc. Otherwise, we will only be saddled with another 'Narmada Bachhao Andolan'-like situation, that will prove to be more disastrous.
