Water level of rivers receding due to mining halt: Parrikar

In an unexpected fall out of halting of mining activity, the water level of rivers in the state has started dipping, the Goa government today claimed.
"The water levels of the rivers have begun receding much before their seasonal period," Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar told reporters here.
"The lowering of water levels in rivers is the result of stoppage of mining activity. The water accumulated in the mining pits was pumped into the rivers annually, which is not happening now as the ore extraction has stopped. The water is still in the pits," he said.
The state government prevented shortage of drinking water by pumping water from one river into another, he said.

"The water was pumped from Mandovi into Opa river (which has a reservoir providing potable water to North Goa)," he said.
The water level in rivers that was supposed to dip in March, has already started receding, he claimed.
All the 90-odd working mining leases in the state are not operational following an interim ban on extraction and transportation of ore by the Supreme Court, pending report from the Central Empowered Committee.