Centre, state urged to resolve Mahadayi river water dispute

: Senior Congress leaderJanardhan Poojary today urged the state and Union governmentsto find an immediate solution to the Mahadayi (Mandovi) water dispute involving the states of Goa, Karnataka and Maharashtra.
Addressing reporters here, he alleged that thestate government had failed in its duty to provide water to parched districts in Karnataka.
He wanted Prime MinisterNarendra Modi to convene a meeting of Chief Ministers of thethree states involved in the dispute.
The Prime Minister could settle the issue in a minuteif he showed the will, he said, adding that access to drinking water was a fundamental right of the people.
Earlier Prime Ministers Indira Gandhi, Lal Bahadur Shastri and Morarji Desaihad called meetings of Chief Ministers to discuss the issue, he said.

Poojary asked all MPs from the state to resign to pressurise the Union government to initiate steps to find a solution to the long-pending issue.

The Mahadayi (Mandovi) river is described as the lifeline of Goa. The river has a length of 77 km, 29 km in Karnataka and 52 km in Goa.
It originates from a cluster of 30 springs in the Western Ghats of Karnataka.
The river has a 2,032 km catchment area in Karnataka and a 1,580 km catchment area in Goa.
A few parts of Maharashtra also fall under the Mahadayi catchment area.
The issue is now pending before the Mahadayi Water Tribunal which was set up by the Union government in 2010.