Responding to a jibe made amid the Mhadei river dispute by Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar, who said Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant had “lost mental balance”, Sawant on Friday hit back, saying Shivakumar’s remarks reflected the “culture” of the Congress.
Speaking to the media outside the Legislative Assembly, Sawant said, “On the Mhadei issue, our fight will continue in the Supreme Court and the (Mahadayi) water disputes tribunal. We have always requested the Centre (for our demands)…and that communication will continue… What someone says about it, I am not concerned with that. That is Congress’s culture… They have always used such words for people. We will continue to do whatever is necessary… I have been fighting for the cause of the Mhadei even before I was an MLA.”
He also said Shivakumar’s comments came from frustration. “When someone is frustrated, they speak like this. There is a competition among them on how low they can stoop when it comes to using such language,” he said.
Goa and Karnataka have been locked in a dispute over the diversion of water from the Mhadei river, which originates in the Bhimgad Wildlife Sanctuary in Karnataka and flows through Goa, Karnataka and Maharashtra before it empties into the Arabian Sea in Goa. The Centre had set up a tribunal which decided on sharing the river water between Goa, Karnataka and Maharashtra. In 2018, the Mahadayi Water Dispute Tribunal adjudicated the dispute, allocating 13.42 tmcft (thousand million cubic feet) of water to Karnataka, 1.33 tmcft to Maharashtra, and 24 tmcft to Goa.
Karnataka plans to divert water to the Malaprabha valley for the Kalasa-Banduri project to supply water to Belagavi, Dharwad, Gadag and Bagalkot districts. Goa has been opposing this plan.
The latest issue began after Sawant said on Tuesday that Goa would approach the Supreme Court against Karnataka for diverting water from the Kalasa tributary of the Mhadei river.
Sawant said in the Legislative Assembly, “Karnataka has been doing activities within its jurisdiction for the longest time. Irrespective of which government is in power (in Karnataka), they are continuing these activities. We cannot go to their jurisdiction and stop them. They do not have any permission from the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests. The Goa government has taken every step to counter their attempts to divert the water. We will be filing a contempt of court petition.”
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Responding to Sawant’s comments, Shivakumar on Thursday said, “I think the Goa CM has lost his mental balance because he does not know what kind of inter-state relationship should exist. I am going to start work. Let them stop it.”
