A Goa-based NGO urged Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar to withdraw his letter to Karnataka BJP leader B.S. Yeddyurappa which has evoked criticism from the Opposition as well as civil society groups in Goa. They also demanded assured consideration on the southern state’s demand for drinking water from the Mhadei River on “humanitarian grounds”. The NGO serves as an umbrella for various green groups and they have been vocal about the Goa Chief Minister’s controversial letter to Yeddyurappa.
Convener of NGO Ami Goykar, S.N. Joshi said, “The Chief Minister should withdraw the letter written to Yeddyurappa immediately. The act of Parrikar is extremely suspicious and against the interests of Goa vis-a-vis the Mhadei dispute.”
Goa, Karnataka and Maharashtra are currently battling a dispute over the controversial Kalsa-Bhandura dam project across the Mhadei river at a central tribunal. While the river runs 28.8 km in Karnataka, it flows 81.2 km in Goa.
The southern state has demanded that Goa should allow the transfer of over seven TMC water to tide over its irrigation and drinking water needs. However the Goa government has been opposing the Karnataka’s demand for over two decades. But last month, Parrikar in a letter to Yeddyurappa offered to consider the state’s demand for “drinking water” on “humanitarian grounds”.
