TUESDAY, APRIL 23, 2024
ALFRED FERNANDES
SANGUEM: The forested hinterlands of Sanguem may not feature on the list of Goa’s top tourist hotspots, but houses an attraction that has captured the hearts of thousands of school children and visitors from across the State- the botanical gardens located downstream of the scenic Selaulim Dam.
Run and maintained by the Goa Forest Development Corporation, the sprawling gardens attract a large number of people all year around.
With vast open spaces for children to run around and safely explore the lush green surroundings, the gardens have been widely accepted as a prime picnic spot by families and the school student community. While in the earlier times, the garden would only boast of landscaped lawns, trees and plants, the Corporation has been on its toes during the lockdown period and has now added various amusements and visitor-friendly facilities to the garden, making it the perfect daylong getaway for people of all age groups.
The tree house, tyre maze and rope walk are some of the newly-added activities on offer for children to work off all that extra energy.
While most visitors bring a packed lunch to enjoy a nostalgic picnic on the grass, the garden also has a cafeteria with refreshments and goodies on offer.
The well-maintained children’s park with swings and playsets for kids upto the age of twelve years is another draw, while the educational aspect of the excursion comes in the form of neatly labelled trees and exotic shrubs scattered across the area. The garden houses different types of local flora and mentions their scientific names and local names, proving to be a learning experience for visitors. While there is a separate garden of medicinal plants and herbs, cacti and succulents and other indoor plants are housed in a quaint round glass-windowed facility.
Older visitors get to take a ‘pasoi’ along the tranquil pathways, replete with colourful flowering hedges, leafy pergolas to walk through and even a nursery that sells seedlings and seeds.
During the monsoon months, the breathtaking duckbill spillway of the Selaulim Dam, which is only a flight of stairs away from the gardens, is a huge draw. The walkway of the dam is worth the climb even in the dry season as it offers a spectacular view of the gardens.
The project, which was started in the year 2003, was the brainchild of former Chief Minister late Manohar Parrikar who had dreamt of developing the botanical gardens at the Selaulim Dam to the likes of Vrundavan Garden at Mysore. However, except for the landscaping of the garden, the other attractions he envisioned here, including musical fountains, a multiplex and a space for cultural events, remained incomplete due to the paucity of funds.
However, with the number of visitors to the botanical gardens increasing with each passing day, the government has planned to pump in an additional Rs 50 crore to further develop the area, which if sanctioned would realise the dream of the late CM.
The government has proposed a toy train, musical fountains and a stage for performance art among other activities.
Deviya Rane, Chairperson of the Goa Forest Development Corporation during her visit to the garden recently also announced elaborate plans to set up a Holistic Wellness Centre here, which will include massage therapists and yoga sessions to attract a whole different demographic of visitors to this not-so-hidden gem.
