The Mahadayi Water Dispute Tribunal on Thursday suggested to Karnataka, Goa and Maharashtra to resolve the dispute amicably through talks.
The tribunal, headed by J M Panchal, suggested that instead of seeking the Centre’s intervention, chief ministers of the three warring states can hold talks and resolve the dispute cordially.
“There is nothing wrong in chief ministers of the three states discussing the issue for resolving it. This will also help save time and money,” Panchal said during cross-examination of the witnesses. The hearing was adjourned to October 3.
The counsels for the three states, Mohan Katarki for Karnataka, Atmaram Nadakarni for Goa and Deepak Nargolkar for Maharashtra, agreed to communicate the tribunal’s suggestion to the chief ministers concerned. The state government had filed a petition before the tribunal seeking 7.5 tmcft of water from the Mahadayi River to provide water for drinking and irrigation purposes to parts of Belagavi, Gadag and Hubballi-Dharwad region.
The petition was strongly opposed by Goa, which stated that the diversion of water would lead to destruction of the environment and also dry its lifeline, the Mandovi River.
People from north Karnataka have been holding protests seeking Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s intervention. The state government, too, urged the prime minister to convene a meeting.
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