Raise height of dams on rivers flowing into Karnataka to `rein it in’, says NCP leader

Nagpur: Amid the renewed border dispute, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Jayant Patil on Tuesday said that Maharashtra should raise the height of the upstream dams to “rein in” the neighbouring states.

The decades-old border dispute was raised in the legislatures of both the states on Tuesday.

Speaking in the Maharashtra Assembly here, Jayant Patil said Karnataka was deliberately harassing Marathi-speakers in its border areas.

“We should reply to what the Karnataka Chief Minister says in the same language. If they have so much attitude, then we will raise the height of dams on Koyna and Warna rivers and that of all the dams in Satara and Kolhapur districts. They (Karnataka leaders) would not be brought under control otherwise,” said the former water resources minister.

“If Karnataka holds us to ransom, then we have water,” he added.

The border issue dates back to 1957 after the reorganisation of States on linguistic lines. Maharashtra laid claim to Belagavi, which was part of the erstwhile Bombay Presidency, as it has a sizeable Marathi-speaking population. It also laid claim to over 800 Marathi-speaking villages which are currently part of Karnataka.

Karnataka maintains the demarcation done on linguistic lines as per the States Reorganisation Act and the 1967 Mahajan Commission Report as final.