Goa CM Pramod Sawant to talk to Maharashtra counterpart Devendra Fadnavis over Tillari dam water release

Panaji: Two weeks since villages in Goa were flooded after the floodgates of the Tillari dam in Maharashtra were opened without adequate warning, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Tuesday said he would write to his Maharashtra counterpart Devendra Fadnavis on the protocol involving release of excess water from the dam.

"We are writing to the (Maharashtra) Chief Minister about the Tillari dam," Sawant told reporters here.

On August 12, release of water from the dam over the Tillari river in Maharashtra caused a flood-like situation in two border villages in Goa -- Sal and Ibrahimpur.

Though located in south Maharashtra, some canals of the Tillari dam flow into the North Goa district to irrigate the region`s agricultural areas.

Sawant also said that the government was in the process of conducting a study to ensure that flooding of low-lying areas, a phenomenon which wreaked havoc in several areas of North Goa, is not repeated again.

"A study is required. I have given instructions to concerned officers of the Water Resources Department and the Public Works Department to study the matter and submit the report," he said.

Over the last one month, Goa has witnessed unprecedented rains which has caused flooding in several areas across the North Goa district.