Goemkarponn desk
BELGAVI: Kannada organisations have criticised the joint statement of the Chief Ministers of Goa and Maharashtra that they will fight the Mhadei issue against Karnataka.
They said that the statement of Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant that they will jointly oppose Karnataka’s efforts to take up irrigation projects in the Mhadei basin is highly condemnable.
Ashok Chandaragi, convenor of Kannada organisations in Belagavi district, has said that Shinde and Sawant have erred in understanding the Kalasa Bandori Nala scheme.
“Shinde visited Goa on Saturday. He said Maharashtra had no dispute with Goa, but the two States would jointly fight Karnataka. Their statements show that they have completely misunderstood the issue. Karnataka’s efforts to divert water from Kalasa and Bandori Nalas to the Malaprabha river basin are justified and do not affect the rights of the other States. The other States should not try to stop this,” he said.
Stating that there are no disputes with the neighbouring Goa, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said that his State and Goa would fight the Mhadei issue together against Karnataka.
Shinde made this statement in the presence of Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant and WRD Minister Subhash Shirodkar on the sidelines of the Interstate Control Board of Tillari Irrigation Project meeting in Mumbai.
Responding to Maharashtra’s stand on the inter-state Mhadei river issue, Shinde had said, “Goa and Maharashtra are brothers, and there are no disputes within. We are going to fight together against Karnataka.”
