Keri: Even as Goa fights its case in the Supreme Court against Karnataka’s diversion of Mhadei river tributaries into the Malaprabha river basin, villagers around Bhandura in Karnataka have raised an alarm over low water levels in the tributary this summer.This is a key point where Karnataka’s water-diversion work is under way.Bhandura nullah is a perennial source that joins the Mhadei river near Nerse. Karnataka has proposed diverting 2.18 tmc feet of water into the Malaprabha basin through infrastructure in Nerse and Manturga, including a diversion weir, jackwell-cum-pump house, an electrical substation, pipeline and power line.Villagers from Karnataka’s Mhadei basin visited Nerse on March 29 and found that the water level of the nullah had reduced. “In comparison to last year, this year we found water level in the Bhandura nullah has been significantly reduced, which will certainly have serious ecological and environmental implications,” local Mahesh Kadam told TOI.Though central water commission has given its clearance to the modified detailed project report for the Bhandura project, the regional empowered committee of the Union ministry of environment, forest and climate change in Bengaluru recently deferred mandatory forest clearance, seeking clarifications from Karnataka regarding the project’s ecological implications on the nullah.
