KERI: After a four-year lull, the Maharashtra government has resumed work on the anicut (bandhara) over the Colvale river at Sasoli-Maneri, a part of the Dodamarg taluka that borders Bicholim and Pernem in Goa.Undertaken by Maharashtra’s water authority at Kankavli , construction had begun in 2014 without the consent of the Goa government, prompting the Laxmikant Parsekar-led regime to protest. All activity at the site was subsequently stopped.The project, which includes the construction of an anicut and excavation of jackwells, is part of Maharashtra’s move to lift raw water from the Colvale river and store it for diversion to 17 villages including Vengurla, 80km away from the site, for drinking and industrial purposes. The Maharashtra government had decided to accumulate around 23.8MLD of water per day from the Colvale river and distribute it through pipelines to villages in Vengurla and Dodamarg. In addition, 88.4MLD of raw water was earmarked for the proposed industrial estate at Aadali.Work on the 80-km-long pipeline, which was stopped together with construction of the anicut, has recently restarted.Goa’s water resources department (WRD) minister Vinod Palyekar, told TOI on Thursday that he would visit the project site with department officials. WRD chief engineer Sandeep Nadkarni, said, “Earlier, when the letter of protest was sent, the Maharashtra government had stopped work. We will take necessary steps in this matter.”The Colvale river is known as the Tillari further upstream, where the joint venture of the Goa and Maharashtra governments the Tillari Irrigation Project has been functioning. Goa’s WRD has installed a pump house at Sal that transfers water from the Tillari into the Amthane bandhara, from where it is diverted to the Assonora water treatment plant to meet the shortfall of drinking water in the state.

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