DIVERSION OF MADEI WILL CAUSE SHORTAGE OF WATER TO GOA

PANJIM: Goa in its master plan has projected that the Madei river water will not be enough to meet state’s irrigation and drinking water requirement by 2051 and any kind of water diversion by Karnataka will spell doom for the state.

Renowned Environmentalist Rajendra Kerkar said that Goa’s master plan has projected that the state will require 2674 mc water by the year 2051. “But the actual water resources in Madei, which is called Mandovi downstream, are just 1531 mc,” he said.

Kerkar, who initiated agitation against diverting Madei river water, has said that the state has already declared the river as a water deficit and any kind of diversion will make matters worst for all those villages settled along this river.

Adding further he said that Karnataka, on the other hand, has manipulated the records showing the river as water surplus.  “It’s sad that Karnataka has painted a wrong picture that surplus water from Madei meets the Arabian Sea and it gets wasted,” Kerkar said.

The environmentalist said that the life of people living around Madei would be in shambles even if minor portion is diverted upstream by Karnataka by blocking the water flow. Kerkar said that the recently constituted Madei water dispute tribunal will not stop the entire water diversion but it’s a body that will decide on the water sharing pattern.  “The body constitutes of Judges and they will go by facts and figures and not the emotions. Karnataka has already manipulated the figures wiping out Goa’s claim that Madei is water Deficit River,” Kerkar said.

He said that Goa government should protest the diversion pointing that the wildlife in Madei sanctuary would be adversely affected once the water is diverted. “We have a major reason to oppose water diversion. The wildlife in Madei sanctuary will get affected severally with the diversion. But Goa government is purposely not resorting to this claim,” Kerkar said.

The environmentalist said that Karnataka government has already made up its mind of diverting 7.56 tmc feet water through their Kalsa Bandura project. “There will be ecological imbalance in Goa even if 2 tmc water is diverted,” he said. (HD)