Mhadei issue: K’taka to cross examine Goa’s witness today

KERI: Cross examination of Goa’s new witness, who has calculated the yield of Mhadei basin, by Karnataka is likely to begin on Tuesday before the Mhadei Water Dispute Tribunal .
The hearing assumes significance after the tribunal recently rejected Karantaka’s application for diversion of 7 TMC water as an emergency measure only for 2016-17 and 2017-18, with temporary infrastructure for lifting the water by pumps.
Earlier, the witness for Goa, Jyothi Prakash - an IIT researcher, had calculated the yield of water in the Mhadei basin as 108 TMC. As Prakash had expressed his unwillingness to be cross-examined, Goa submitted the name of hydrology expert Chetan Pandit as the new witness, who has calculated 115 TMC yield in the Mhadei basin.
A team comprising Goa’s WRD’s officials, advocates and additional solicitor general of India, Atmaram Nadkarni, who is representing Goa in the matter, are already in Delhi. When contacted, the chief engineer of water resources department, Sandeep Nadkarni, said, “We have made thorough preparation to face the arguments during the cross-examination pertaining to data submitted in the matter of new yield estimation calculated in the Mhadei basin.” tnn