| Hi Helga, Is the book available in the US? Best regards, John Sent from my iPhone Hi John and Albertina, Thanks for your responses to my email. @Albertina I am glad you plan to attend the launch of the book as there you will meet several people who can clarify the legal aspects that you have posed. One of them is Adv. Aurobindo Gomes Pereira, who has also contributed to the book. @joao there was a huge 'Save Mhadei' movement and it was very active on social media and more importantly it was spearheaded by young people including artists and environmentalists. Please check their Instagram page which lists all the activities past and present. But also ask Vivek Meenzes who knows way more about it than I do and whose son Rohan along with a few others was even arrested at one protest. As I stated in my earlier post which addressed your question 'why Mhadei and not Mandovi', my primary goal was to provide scientific evidence that water that flows into the Arabian sea is not 'wasted', possibly one of the most idiotic arguments a court has ever accepted. Best, Helga Dear Helga, Good to hear from you and thank you and your colleagues for this valuable effort. Scholarly books and petitions are necessary and valuable resources and tools to address societal problems, but what history teaches us is that they are insufficient. Independence of India and civil rights in the US were not earned just with petitions and scholarly books or because some judges decided that they were beautiful things to do. It seems to me (and I am not, by any means, an expert on this subject) that without a vigorous grassroots movement, demonstrations, and the use of social media, a calamity of this magnitude will never be resolved or prevented. John Sent from my iPhone Hello Joao, Glad you asked this question as it gives me an opportunity to explain at least the aspects that I have addressed in the chapter titled "From the River to the Sea: The Mhadei River Continuum and the Impact of Interventions". Perhaps also those of other highly informed experts who contributed to this book. As Fredrick's post says the contributors comprise not only scientists and ecologists but also legal scholars, historians, planners, journalists, activists, and community practitioners—to explore a pressing environmental dispute. And the dispute is the damming and diversion of waters from river upstream by the Karnataka government to satiate its increasing need for water which it requires for its huge sugarcane plantations and other agriculture. As Antonio has explained, the Mhadei river is a continuum and its basin spans three states: 4% in Maharashtra, 18% in Karnataka, and 78% in Goa where it empties into the Arabian Sea. So in order to understand the impacts of the dam we have to look at the entire river continuum. My focus was especially to refute the asinine argument of the Karnataka govt which says that Goa 'wastes' its waters by allowing them to flow in the Arabian Sea. In my paper, I demonstrate with substantial evidence, the ecological harm caused by the hydrological modifications and consequent decrease in freshwater to the estuary. One major repercussion is the intrusion of saline water that would decimate fragile populations acclimated to a certain salinity range but there are others like diminished nutrients and loss of important spawning grounds. I wish I were able to attend the book launch but I hope some of you in Goa will grace the occasion and interact with the many experts who can tell you more. Best wishes, Helga Why Mhadei and not Mandovi? I thought Mhadei was the name used in Maharashtra and Karnataka. In Goa the river has been known as Mandovi. John M. de Figueiredo Sent from my iPhone
Release at the Goa University on Tuesday, Sep 16, 2025.
Editors: Peter Ronald deSouza, Solano Da Silva, Lakshmi Subramanian
Pp 450. Colour printing.
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It is rare to find a work as readable and educative on
an issue with resonances for this country and the world at large. River
Mhadei has friends as thoughtful as they are articulate.--MAHESH
RANGARAJAN, Professor, Ashoka University
A rich, lucidly written collection of articles that
captures the Mhadei river’s ecological, cultural, and political
significance. From its origins to ongoing legal battles and living
traditions, this book demonstrates that the Mhadei is not just Goa’s
lifeline—it is its soul. Essential reading for every Goan. Every river
lover.—NORMA ALVARES, Senior Advocate, Bombay High Court
The River Mhadei: The Science and Politics of Diversion brings
together a wide range of experts—scientists, ecologists, legal scholars,
historians, planners, journalists, activists, and community
practitioners—to explore a pressing environmental dispute. Centered on
the waters of the Mhadei, which are contested by the states of Goa,
Karnataka, and Maharashtra, the volume moves beyond the narrow confines
of technical and legal debates over water diversion and allocation to
present a richly layered portrait of the river as a living presence.
Its chapters flow across time and discipline, from field-based
ecological studies and hydrological analyses to the history of Goan
riverine infrastructure, cultural memory, participatory art, and a
critical perspective on the official adjudication of the dispute and the
political maneuverings it has engendered. Some essays foreground the
staggering—and fragile—biodiversity supported by the river; others
explore local festivals, agricultural infrastructure, and the
experiences and lived knowledge of riverside communities for whom the
Mhadei is Amchi Mai—Our Mother. At the heart of the volume is
the pressing question: What does justice mean in a time of ecological
crisis? It warns against viewing the Mhadei solely as a resource to be
exploited and highlights its role as a sustainer of ecosystems, a
commons, and a memory archive.
- Contents
- Figures and Tables 7
- Foreword: Keri Facer 11
- Acknowledgements 16
- Introduction (Peter Ronald deSouza, Solano Da Silva, Lakshmi Subramanian) 18
- Conserving the Mahadayi: Biodiversity, Water, and Cultural Resources (Rajendra P. Kerkar) 31
- The Many Pasts and Contested Present of the Mhadei (Lakshmi Subramanian) 50
- Abundant Mother Goddess or Scarce, Contested Resource? The Life and Times of the River Mhadei (Parineeta Dandekar) 71
- Saving the Mhadei: The Anatomy of a Movement (Meera Mohanty) 93
- The Political Economy of the Mhadei Dispute: Intersecting the
Domains of Politics, Institutions, and Interests (Rahul Tripathi) 120
- The Unquiet Flow of the Mahadayi: A Logbook of Issues as Seen from the Eastern Face (Rishikesh Bahadur Desai) 135
- The Working of the Inter-State Mahadayi Water Disputes Tribunal (Vaishali Kashyap) 157
- Sifting through the Water Laws: Securing the Mandovi River for Future Generations (Vasudha Sawaiker) 176
- Understanding Mhadei River Water Sharing (A. G. Chachadi) 201
- Threats to the Lesser-Known Biodiversity of the Mhadei Bio-Region: A Spotlight (Nirmal Kulkarni) 225
- Freshwater Fish Diversity in the Mhadei River in Goa (Vidyadhar Atkore and Nandini Velho) 247
- From the River to the Sea: The Mhadei River Continuum and the Impact of Interventions (Helga do Rosario Gomes) 264
- Valuing the River Mhadei: An Economic Exploration (Dhirendra Deshpande) 281
- Understanding the Urban Estuarine Ecology of the Mhadei: The Role
of Khazans in Panjim, Goa (Leon Morenas and Manisha Rodrigues) 301
- The Privatization of Community Property and Gambling with the Future of Goa (Aurobindo Gomes Pereira) 325
- Mhadei: ”May the Great Mother Live Long in Letters and Spirit” (Narayan B. Desai) 343
- Participatory River Drawings and Political Capabilities through Library Practice (Sujata Noronha) 366
- Managing the Commons in a Climate Emergency: An Experiment in Good Governance (Maya de Souza) 391\
- Epilogue: The Currents of the River Mhadei (Peter Ronald deSouza) 419
- Contributors 442
CONTRIBUTORS: A. G. Chachadi | Aurobindo Gomes Pereira |
Dhirendra Deshpande | Helga do Rosario Gomes | Lakshmi Subramanian |
Leon Morenas | Manisha Rodrigues | Maya de Souza | Meera Mohanty |
Nandini Velho | Narayan B. Desai | Nirmal Kulkarni | Parineeta Dandekar |
Peter Ronald deSouza | Rahul Tripathi | Rajendra P. Kerkar | Rishikesh
Bahadur Desai | Solano Da Silva| Sujata Noronha | Vaishali Kashyap |
Vasudha Sawaiker | Vidyadhar Atkore 450 pp. Printed in colour.
VISIT http://www.mhadeicollective.com
Available via mail order from Goa,1556 WhatsApp +91-9822122436 [email protected]
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