Prawah begins joint inspection of Mhadei basin

Keri: Members of the Mahadayi Prawah or the Mhadei Water Management Authority began their joint inspection of the river basin in Goa on Thursday. They were accompanied by officials of state water resources department (WRD).
The inspection was a follow-up action on the resolution taken in the first meeting of the Mahadayi-Prawah. It has been Goa’s demand that a joint inspection of the sites be carried out.The team visited areas of Sattari, Bicholim and Bardez talukas lying in the Mhadei basin.
As per the schedule, on Thursday the members were supposed to visit areas in Maharashtra. However, they visited Amthane dam in Bicholim, Anjunem dam in Keri, an anicut in Sanquelim, water treatment plants in Assonora, Padoshem, Sanquelim, Dabos, and the confluence site of the Mhadei and the Kalasa (Nanoda) in Uste of Sattari.
Pramod Badami, chief engineer of WRD, Goa, said, “Today, we took them to the major water treatment plants that are catering to the drinking water needs of the population of Bicholim, Sattari, Bardez talukas and showed areas where salt water intrusion takes place in the Mhadei basin and highlighted how water of the Mhadei and its tributaries are playing an important role in maintaining ecology and wildlife of the state.
For Thursday’s visit, the chairman of the Prawah, P M Scot was not present. However, when contacted, Badami said that Scott would join the visiting team on July 5.
The Mahadayi Prawah will carry out site inspections till July 8.
On July 7, the committee will visit the site of the Kalasa-Bandura project at Kankumbi in Karnataka. Goa has been reiterating that Karnataka is diverting the water flowing into Goa at the Kalasa-Bandura project site.
After visiting different sites, the committee will hold its second meeting in Bengaluru on July 8 to deliberate on its findings.