Goa delegation urges Amit Shah to withdraw nod to Karnataka DPR

Panaji/New Delhi, Jan 11 A delegation, led by Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, met Union Home Minister Amit Shah in the national capital on Wednesday and urged him to withdraw approval given to Karnataka's detailed project report (DPR) for the disputed Kalsa-Bhanduri dam project.

Goa Assembly Speaker Ramesh Tawadkar, Environment Minister Nilesh Cabral, Water Resource Minister Subhash Shirodkar, Forest Minister Vishwajit Rane, Protocol Minister Mauvin Godinho (all BJP), Power Minister Sudin Dhavalikar (MGP) and Independent MLA Chandrakant Shetye were part of this delegation.

Union Minister of State for Tourism Shripad Naik and Rajya Sabha Member Vinay Tendulkar were also present on the occasion.

"Goa Government's delegation on Mhadei met the Hon'ble Home Minister, Shri Amit Shah Ji in New Delhi today and urged for immediate constitution of the Mhadei Water Management Authority as given in the award and also urged for the withdrawal of the DPR sanctioned by CWC," Sawant tweeted.

Since Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai announced that the Centre has cleared the much disputed Kalasa-Bhanduri dam project in his state, people in Goa have started to vent their anger over the issue and public meetings are being held.

Several social activists, organisations and opposition parties have come under one banner of "Save Goa - Save Mhadei' and will hold a public meeting on January 16 at Sanquelim in North Goa.

Goa and Karnataka are currently battling out a dispute over the Kalsa-Bhandura dam project across the Mhadei river at a Central tribunal.

Mhadei originates in Karnataka and meets the Arabian Sea in Panaji. While the river traverses 28.8 km in Karnataka, it is 81.2 km in length in Goa. Karnataka plans to construct dams on the river, aimed at diverting the waters into its water-starved Malaprabha basin in its northern region.

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