SANGUEM: After sealing the entry points leading to old Kurdi, Sanguem Deputy Collector Ajay Gaude accompanied by officials from Water Resources Department Pajimol and Sanguem Police on Thursday sealed yet another landmark point in Sanguem which was widely used by teenage couples and youth for nefarious activities and liquor parties.
The second such point to be closed on Thursday was at Madel in the Selaulim Dam vicinity. The area surrounding the Madel ward of Uguem Panchayat was developed by the WRD some years back by spending huge amount to promote it for leisure activities for tourists and others.
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Considerable amount of money was spent on a large walking track equipped with fancy solar lamps and the compound wall. A number of ornamental and fruit bearing trees were planted in the developed area.
However, while the project was in the final stages and was about to be thrown open to general public through formal inauguration, the Department lost sight and the project remained left incomplete.
As months passed, the project soon gained limelight after youth and couples discovered this hidden project at Madel. Be it day or late evening, youth were seen enjoying and passing their time at this secluded place, which is almost a kilometre from the main village road. The village has no residential houses nearby but trees on either side and with Selaulim backwaters on one side providing an enchanting look.
Policemen do not visit this interior village and this has given the youth a free hand to do whatever they want. A year ago, a youth from nearby village got drowned at this site while bathing in the Selaulim waters.
With no checks whatsoever, anti-social elements have also damaged the public property including the designer lights worth lakhs of rupees. Incidentally, the parties and private visits to Madel continued even after the lockdown.
When this violation was brought to the notice of Deputy Collector Sanguem Ajay Gaude, he conducted preliminary inquiries into the matter with the assistance from Sanguem Mamlatdar Manoj Korgaonkar. After confirming the same, Gaude along with other officials rushed to the site on Thursday morning and sealed the main entry gate to the beautification project at Madel for all visitors.
