'Mhadei water diversion would hit drinking water, tourism, environment of Goa'
Panaji, Aug 2: Diversion of water from the Mhadei river will severely hit drinking water supply, irrigation, navigation, tourism, ecology and environment in Goa, Water Resources Minister Vinod Palienkar told the Goa Assembly on Thursday.
Palienkar made the statement in response to a question from Congress MLA Ravi Naik in the Assembly.
In reply to an earlier question during the ongoing monsoon session, Palienkar had ruled out any negotiation on Mhadei river water-sharing with Karnataka, even as he had accused Karnataka of already diverting the river water to the depleted Malaprabha river basin through underground channels.
Goa, Karnataka and Maharashtra are currently battling a dispute over the controversial Kalsa-Bhandura dam project across the waters of the Mhadei river.
Mhadei, also known as the Mandovi river, is known as a lifeline in the northern parts of Goa.
It originates in Karnataka, meeting the Arabian Sea in Panaji in Goa, while briefly flowing through the territory of Maharashtra.
Karnataka also aims to build seven dams at various points along the river, including at Kalsa village, for diverting the flow into what it claims is the water-starved Malaprabha basin in north Karnataka.
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Rupee hits all-time intra-day low of 92.36 against US dollar
Mumbai (PTI): The rupee tumbled 35 paise to hit all-time intra-day low of 92.36 against the US dollar on Thursday as global crude oil prices kept rising overnight and showed no signs of easing amid the raging war in West Asia.
A stronger greenback, and weak sentiments in the domestic equity markets further weighed on the rupee, which was already on a weak footing in early trade due to heavy FII outflows, forex traders said.
At the interbank foreign exchange, the local unit opened at 92.25 but kept falling to hit an all-time intra-day low of 92.36 against the US dollar, losing 35 paise from its previous close.
The rupee had seen its previous record intra-day low of 92.35 against the greenback on March 9.
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On Wednesday, it declined 16 paise to settle at 92.01 against the US dollar.
The dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.18 per cent higher at 99.40.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading higher by 6.72 per cent at USD 98.16 per barrel in futures trade.
On the domestic equity market front, the Sensex plunged 445.26 points, or 0.58 per cent, to 76,418.45 points, while the Nifty was down 121.70 points, or 0.51 per cent, at 23,745.15.
Foreign institutional investors sold equities worth Rs 6,267.31 crore on a net basis on Wednesday, according to exchange data.
