Goa activists team up with project-affected Khanapur farmers over Mahadayi project

PANAJI: Activists from Goa who have been opposing the Kalasa Banduri project have reached out to farmers in north Karnataka’s Khanapur region after they spoke out against the irrigation project following land acquisition notices sent out by the authorities.

Environmental activist Nitin Dhond, who travelled to Belagavi’s Khanapur sub district in Karnataka for a joint meeting on Wednesday, said, “The farmers of Khanapur 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”.

Farmers and residents of Asoga, Nersa, Manturga, Rumewadi, Karambal, all villages of the 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, villagers say.

The Kalasa Banduri project is an ambitious plan to divert waters of River Mhadei (Mahadayi in Karnataka) that flow into Goa to the east-flowing Malaprabha river, a tributary of the Krishna.

Wednesday’s meeting was the first time that the farmers and project-affected people in Khanapur spoke out against the project which otherwise, has the support from farmers from other parts of the state.

Farmers and residents of Asoga, Nersa, Manturga, Rumewadi and Karambal villages of Khanapur have received notices for land acquisition. Work on the construction of large underwater pipes that would be part of an underground canal to divert the water has already started , said villagers.

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.”

Dhond said the project would 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,” he said.

Dhond said the project would impact the Bhimgad and Mahadayi wildlife sanctuaries and their associated reserve forests and eco-sensitive zones, 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.

Hrudaynath Shirodkar of the Save Mhadei, Save Goa, welcomed that the people of Karnataka also were 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,” he said.

Karnataka has previously witnessed massive protests in favour of the project, which seeks to divert water from the 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 River Mahadayi 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.

In August 2018, the Mahadayi Water Disputes Tribunal granted Karnataka a total of 13.42 Thousand Million Cubic Feet (TMC) of water. Both the Goa and Karnataka governments have, for very different reasons, challenged this award.

While Goa has approached the Supreme Court arguing that Karnataka shouldn’t be allowed to divert any water since Mahadayi 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 also alleged that Karnataka has already started 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.