Karnataka farmers join Goa activists against diversion of Mhadei river water
As part of the project, the state government plans to divert waters of the Mhadei river (Mahadayi in Karnataka) that flows into Goa to the east-flowing Malaprabha river, a tributary of the Krishna.
Farmers from north Karnataka, likely to be affected by the government’s plans to divert waters of Mhadei river (Mahadayi in Karnataka), have joined the activists from Goa to demand the scrapping of Kalasa Banduri project.
As part of the project, the state government plans to divert waters of the Mhadei river (Mahadayi in Karnataka) that flows into Goa to the east-flowing Malaprabha river, a tributary of the Krishna.
“The farmers of Khanapur (in Belagavi) and surrounding villages have recognised that rather than being of benefit to them, the project is designed to take away the water that they depend on and divert it to other parts of the state, while at the same time destroying the forest of the Western Ghats that bring us the rain,” Nitin Dhond, who was present for the meeting held at Khanapur sub-district bordering Goa in Karnataka’s Belagavi district, where the project is planned.
Farmers and residents of Asoga, Nersa, Manturga, Rumewadi, Karambal, all villages of Khanapur sub-district where the project is planned, have received notices for land acquisition and work on the construction of large underwater pipes has begun that are intended to be part of an underground canal to divert the water, the villagers said in the memorandum, listing out their concerns, handed over to the deputy commissioner, Belagavi on Wednesday.
At the meeting on Wednesday, farmers resolved to oppose the land acquisition moves and termed the government’s moves to push ahead with the project as “gross injustice” and being done “without sanction and [the] proper, required statutory clearances.”
“This project is destined to cause irreversible damage through forest destruction and fragmentation in this eco-sensitive area. It will have far reaching adverse and devastating effects on the local micro climate, environment, rainfall leading to acute shortage of water in the Mahadayi- Malaprabha catchment areas. And adversely impacting the livelihood of the people of this region,” Dhond said.
“The Mahadayi diversion project is intended to divert entire Kalasa and Banduri rivers away from the 700 sq kms of Bhimgad and Mahadayi wildlife sanctuaries and their associated reserve forests and eco-sensitive zones further aggravating the water security of the region. Additionally, it will adversely affect agriculture, livelihoods and impact the drinking water availability for the entire Taluka of Khanapur,” he added.
The uprising by the local, project affected farmers was welcomed by activists in Goa who have called on the groupings to join forces to appeal to the Centre not to permit the project.
“Now the people of Karnataka are themselves rising up and have joined cause with us and they are appealing to their own government to not go ahead with the project. All three groups need to come together and give representation to the central government against the project,” Hrudaynath Shirodkar of the Save Mhadei, Save Goa, told the media on Thursday.
Meanwhile, the Karnataka government is yet to respond to the farmers concerns.
There have been several massive protests in Karnataka in favour of the project, which intends to divert water from water-rich Western Ghats streams towards the more arid parts of the state and to meet the drinking water needs of the twin towns of Hubballi and Dharwad.
Goa has opposed any diversion of waters of the Mahadayi river, which originates in the Western Ghats in Karnataka, takes a detour via Maharashtra and enters Goa as the Mandovi. The Mahadayi river basin drains an area of 2032 sq.km., out of which an area of 375 sq.km. lies in Karnataka, 77 sq.km. in Maharashtra and rest in Goa.
The Mahadayi Water Disputes Tribunal in a verdict in August 2018 granted Karnataka a total of 13.42 Thousand Million Cubic (TMC) of water out of their demand for from their total claims of 36.558 TMC of water. It was a culmination of nearly four decades of disputes between Goa and Karnataka over sharing of the waters of the River Mahadayi.
Both the Goa and Karnataka governments have, for very different reasons, challenged the final award granted by the Mahadayi Interstate Water Disputes Tribunal.
While Goa has approached the Supreme Court arguing that Karnataka shouldn’t be allowed to divert any water owing to the fact that the Mahadayi river is a water deficient river, Karnataka is before the Supreme Court arguing that the tribunal erred in granting it only 13.42 TMC of water.
The Goa government has alleged that Karnataka has already begun illegally diverting water via a network of canals that were constructed despite a stay from the Supreme Court and has written to the Centre to constitute the ‘‘Mahadayi Water Management Authority’ a body that the Tribunal said was necessary to implement its report and final decision.
