Panaji. Congress leaders arrested for demonstrating to meet Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar at a hotel in Goa will not apply for bail. A party official gave this information on Saturday. Police said that about 15 leaders including Goa Pradesh Youth Congress Committee chief Varad Mardolkar, Goa Pradesh Congress Committee (GPCC) general secretary Sankalp Amonkar, party official Janardan Bhandari were arrested by the Goa Police at midnight as they were all five stars. Performing to meet Javadekar at the hotel. Javadekar stayed in this hotel. Javadekar has come here on Saturday to participate in several meetings regarding the new agricultural law. Congress leaders arrived here at around midnight. He was seeking to meet the minister over the ongoing dispute with Karnataka over the Mahadayi River.
A senior police official said that the leaders were arrested as a precautionary measure. GPCC chief Girish Chodankar said the leaders arrested would not apply for bail. He went to meet the minister to appeal to Karnataka to prevent the diversion of the Mahadai river from illegal flow.
He said that the minister should point out the central government’s stand on the issue of Mahadayi river. The Congress leader said that in violation of the Supreme Court order and the decision of the Inter-State Water Disputes Tribunal is diverting the stream of Karnataka river. Janardan Bhandari, one of the arrested leaders, said that he would remain in police custody but would not file a petition for bail.
He said that we do not want bail, we Mahadayi – we want our mother near us. There is a dispute between Goa and Karnataka over the sharing of the Mahadayi river. The Inter-State Water Disputes Tribunal adjudicated on the sharing of water between Goa, Karnataka and Maharashtra. All three states have filed a petition in the Supreme Court against this decision.
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