Panaji, Dec 10 (IANS): Hundreds of Congress workers marched to the Raj Bhavan to protest against economic policies of the central government, while also urging the Governor Satya Pal Malik to urge the Centre's intervention in the ongoing inter-state dispute between Goa and Karnataka over the waters of the Mhadei river.
State Congress President Girish Chodankar and Leader of Opposition Digambar Kamat, who led the protest march, also submitted two memorandum addressed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the Governor, seeking the latter's urgent intervention in putting the economy on track, as well as requesting for a withdrawal of the Union Minister of Environment and Forests green nod to Karnataka's Kalasa-Banduri dam project. The Rs 841 crore project ostensibly aims to divert water from the basin of the Mhadei river to the basin of Karnataka's Malaprabha river.
"This is to bring to your notice that there is complete slowdown in the economy which has led to closure of businesses, job losses, fall in manufacturing and Industrial production, and fall in exports resulting in huge job losses. The rising prices of basic commodities has added to the woes of the common man," the Congress party's memorandum to Modi reads.
"There is fear and anxiety in the minds of the public about the complete collapse of economy in India, as the government led by you has completely ignored the situation and have not taken any remedial actions to find solutions to boost and revive the economy,a the memorandum listing the failures of the National Democratic Alliance government also said.
In another memorandum, the Congress has also urged Modi to withdraw the letter written by the MoEF in October, to a Karnataka government agency giving a green nod to the Kalasa-Banduri project, which Goa has petitioned against in the Supreme Court.
"Mhadei is an inseparable life line of Goa and if any quantity of water is allowed to be diverted for any purpose, it will create an irreversible damage to the ecology of Goa. We are of the opinion that there cannot be any discussion on water sharing of Mhadei river with any state as other large states have numerous rivers to be tapped," the petition also said.
The Mhadei river originates in Karnataka and meets the Arabian Sea near Panaji in Goa, while briefly flowing through Maharashtra.
An inter-state water disputes tribunal, set up by the central government, after hearing the over two-decade-old Mhadei river water sharing dispute among Goa, Karnataka and Maharashtra, in August 2018 allotted 13.42 thousand million cubic feet (TMC) (including 3.9 TMC for diversion into the depleted Malaprabha river basin) to Karnataka and 1.33 TMC to Maharashtra.