MARGAO: The proposal to declare Benaulim’s renowned Kamala Tollem as a wetland has been met with both enthusiasm and objection from the villagers. While welcoming the wetland designation, the villagers have raised concerns over the suggested Buffer Zone, emphasising that stakeholders were not consulted before the publication of the notification.
During a special gram sabha convened on October 28, villagers voiced strong opposition to the 50-metre area around the lake being declared a Buffer Zone, asserting that it encompasses people’s houses and plots earmarked for future construction. Additionally, the Cana-Benaulim panchayat expressed disappointment for not being consulted before the notification’s publication, a sentiment echoed by Clemente Fernandes, acting president of the Comunidade of Benaulim, which owns Kamala Tollem.
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Rooted in mythology, it is believed that the arrow shot by Lord Parshuram, the sixth Avatar of God Vishnu, from the hills of Chiplun, landed at Kamala Tollem from where the sea retreated to create the Konkan or Malabar region. Another legend links the lake to the vibrant red lotuses that grew there in abundance, leading to its name after the national flower.
However, the Comunidade, responsible for the lake, has been non-functional for several years, leaving Kamala Tollem in a state of neglect. “The managing committee has not been appointed for the last so many years, even though we had sent the names,” lamented Clemente Fernandes.
Sarpanch Xavier Pereira supported the wetland declaration but noted the changes in the lake’s surroundings due to nearby hotel developments and added that there is a possibility of effluents being discharged in the lake, though it is not visible yet.
The entire lake admeasuring 8,050 sq mts is called ‘Kapelachem Bhat’ as per Forms I & XIV. The zone of influence of this lake admeasures an area of 33,404 sq mts, covered by 47 survey numbers of which 17 are whole plots and the others are only parts of the plots. The buffer zone is 50 mts around the highest line of water of the lake.
