NT NETWORK
PANAJI
Stating that Karnataka should not misunderstand and misuse the letter written by Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar to Karnataka BJP chief B S Yeddyurappa, Water Resources Minister Vinod Palyekar on Saturday said that Goa government is contemplating filing of contempt of court petition in the Supreme Court against the neighbouring state in the Mhadei water dispute matter.
‘The flow of the water has been blocked and diverted towards Karnataka. Water is now going towards Karnataka. I will have a discussion with the Advocate General and the Chief Minister and then decide on filing contempt petition,” said Palyekar while addressing press conference in Panaji.
When questioned whether Parrikar’s letter to Yeddyurappa for a bilateral talk on sharing the Mhadei water provoked and influenced Karnataka to resume the work, Palyekar said, “It can be anything but I feel that Chief Minister’s letter is not the order of the court, hence Karnataka should not misunderstand and misuse the letter.”
Palyekar visited the site in Karnataka under heavy police protection along with a team of engineers of the WRD where they have resumed the construction work on the Kalasa nallah at Kankumbi for diversion of water from Mhadei. He, however, said that the construction work has been stopped after Goa government intervened and wrote a letter to Belagavi Collector directing them to immediately stop the
work.
“When we visited the site today, we could not figure out from when they had resumed the work. We will write and produce the evidence before the tribunal about the construction work undertaken by Karnataka government despite the stay by the court on or before the next hearing that is February 6,” he said.
He further informed that a vigilance team comprising of WRD engineers and other officials have been formed who will now visit the site at Kankumbi every week and inspect if Karnataka resumes the construction work yet again. He further said that he had an interaction with the Karnataka reporters at the site and made a statement that Goa government will fight the battle legally and take the matter to its logical end without compromising the interest of the state.