Panaji: On Wednesday, Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant warned that the government will not accept opposition to the construction of 'Bandharas' (check dams), since water storage is essential in order to tackle water shortage issues.
During a programme in Panaji, Sawant urged people to support development work like Bandharas.
“Due to the delay in rain this year, we faced a shortage of water. We need to construct bandharas at new places. We tried to construct one at Curti-Ponda in South Goa but the people are opposing it. But in future we will not tolerate such opposition,” he said.
He stated that Bandharas would be constructed in four different locations across the state to tackle water shortage.
“People should support such projects. If they don’t (support) then we will have to suffer. If we can store water in large volumes then it can be supplied after purifying for potable use,” Sawant stated.
The monsoon was delayed by about ten days, causing water shortages in several parts of the coastal state. Many residents have spoken out about how frustrated they were with the unreliable water supply in their area.
Water Resource Minister Subhash Shirodkar had earlier said that water levels of dams had come down due to the delay in the monsoon. However, the Opa water treatment plant at Ponda in South Goa had enough water because of rain in the Mhadei basin at the border of Goa and Karnataka, which runs to this plant.
The people of Goa who are campaigning to protect the Mhadei river have repeatedly voiced their concern that the state is going to suffer from a water shortage if the Mhadei water is diverted by Karnataka.
Goa and Karnataka are currently locked in a dispute before a central tribunal over the Kalasa-Bhanduri dam project across the Mhadei river.—Inputs from Agencies