from daijiworld's special correspondent
Panaji, Oct 7: The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) has said that the state administration's effort to stall the diversion of water from Mhadei was not enough and warned that the diversion posed a threat to the state's very identity.
In a press note issued here today, NCP spokesman and general secretary Surendra Furtado said that the water diversion threatened not only the state's ecology but the Madei valley which is home to 25 varieties of mammals, 15 varieties of reptiles, 120 varieties of birds, 170 tyope of medicinal plants besides being home to Wroughtonis Freetailed bat and rare Taphozous bat.
Deputy chief minister of Goa Dr Wilfred De Souza (second from left) is seen clearing his party NCP’s stand on continuing their support to the Rane government. Also seen in the picture (from left) MGP MLA and PWD minister Sudin Dhavlikar, agriculture minister Mickey Pacheco and GTDC chairperson Fatima D’Sa ( Pic Rajtilak Naik, Panaji)
He reminded the state administration that in 2002 Karnataka managed to get a controversial letter from the Secretary of Central Water Committee permitting diversion of 7.56 tmc Madei waters issued on the day of his retirement.
The NCP spokesman pointed out that though Goa's total rainfall yield is 86.8 tmc from western and central regions it cannot be fully harvested due to land use, lack of storage sites and civic and industrial development.
In recent years, Furtado pointed out, the state rainfall was showing a downard trend and there was an urgent need to ensure that the state got sufficient water quota for its needs.
The NCP spokesman pointed out that when Malaprabha dam was constructed in Karnataka, the people of the region were promised that 80 percent of water would be used for drinking purpose, but now 90 per cent is diverted for farming.
Moreover, leakage from canals and pipelines within Karnataka resulted in a loss of 7.5 tmc water, almost the same volume sought to be diverted from Goa.
This shows that Karnataka is not diverting water out of its need, rather out of greed and ecological insensitivity.