Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar and majority of MLAs today skipped an event organised by the state secretariat to create awareness about the Mahadayi river water sharing dispute.
The programme was organised at the secretariat in Porvorim, which was attended by only six out of the total 40 MLAs.
However, Goa Assembly Speaker Pramod Sawant said Parrikar had informed him in advance that he would not be able to attend the programme due to his preoccupation.
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Besides Parrikar, Water Resources Department Minister Vinod Palyekar too gave a miss to the event attended by Mahadayi Bachao Abhiyaan leader Rajendra Kerkar among others.
On the occasion, Kerkar made a presentation on the simmering dispute between Goa and Karnataka.
Goa and Karnataka have locked horns over sharing of Mahadayi (known as Mandovi in Goa) river water.
The issue is currently pending before the Mahadayi Water Dispute Tribunal in Delhi.
The speaker, who hosted the programme, expressed displeasure over bulk of MLAs not turning up.
"We had sent the invite to all the MLAs including ministers. It is unfortunate that majority of them did not turn up for the event," Sawant told reporters on the sidelines of the event.
He said today's function was held to educate lawmakers on the issue.
"We wanted all the MLAs to be aware about the seriousness of the issue," Sawant said.
Kerkar, who explained in detail the Mahadayi dispute, criticised the absence of MLAs, saying they were not serious about the issue.
"I would say that the MLAs and MPs in Karnataka are more serious on this issue compared to their counterparts in Goa," said Kerkar who has been spearheading a movement against diversion of Mahadayi river.
Kerkar said the Goa government should not compromise on the river dispute for the sake of winning elections for its party in Karnataka.
The old dispute came to the fore again after Parrikar wrote a letter to Karnataka BJP president B S Yeddiyurappa last December.
Parrikar stated that his government was ready to share water of the river, which originates in Karnataka and flows through Goa, for drinking purposes of people.
Parrikar's letter was termed as an electoral gambit by the ruling Congress in poll-bound Karnataka.
Palyekar had recently claimed that Karnataka was trying to divert the river water for irrigation purpose in violation of the Supreme Court orders.
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