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Sandesh Prabhudesai in Panjim
Goa has urged Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee to intervene and direct neighbouring Karnataka not to divert the waters of the Mhadei, known locally as the Mandovi.
The attention of central leaders is being drawn to the Goa-Karnataka water dispute with Congress president Sonia Gandhi also being requested to instruct her party's government in Karnataka not to go ahead with any construction work on dams along the inter-state border.
Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar, along with Irrigation Minister Ramakant Khalap, has submitted a memorandum to Vajpayee in this regard, drawing his attention to work going on at the proposed dam sites.
By diverting the water of the River Mhadei, which originates in the forests of Karnataka, the S M Krishna government plans to construct seven dams and three hydroelectric projects. This, Goa fears, will result in the river drying up.
"We will once again meet Vajpayeeji in April to discuss the issue in detail after the PMO [prime minister's office] studies our memorandum," Parrikar, a Bharatiya Janata Party politician, said on his return from Delhi.
Parrikar has demanded tripartite talks on the issue, roping in Maharashtra as part of its Konkan region will also be affected. The BJP-led government is also exploring other channels to stop Karnataka, including legal options and the Central Water Resources Tribunal.
Parrikar has requested Nirmala Sawant, Goa Pradesh Congress Committee chief and convenor of the Mhadei Bachao Andolan, to talk to Karnataka Chief Minister Krishna.
Though all of them are trying to make political capital out of the issue, most of Goa's politicians have vehemently opposed any attempt to divert the Mhadei's water to Karnataka as the river is the lifeline of the state, especially north Goa. It runs into the Arabian Sea at Panjim.
Sawant plans to meet Krishna at the All-India Congress Committee's plenary session in Bangalore on March 17 and 18. "I have already briefed my party president Soniaji in this regard, demanding her intervention," she said.
Parrikar criticized the observation of Kashinath Jhalmi, leader of the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party, that Karnataka could be allowed to use the water as Goa is not making any use of it. "We also need the Mhadei water to flush out the salinity of the Arabian Sea, which otherwise travels up to 65km inland," he pointed out.
Alternatively, Jhalmi suggested that the government should go ahead with the Mandovi irrigation project, which has been stalled for environmental reasons. Parrikar does not favour this either.
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