Team Herald

CANACONA: As Goa remembers to pay homage to the departed souls of six Goans who tragically lost their lives while picnicking at the enchanting Nagarmadi waterfalls exactly a year ago, a visit to the killer waterfall still brings out chills of the incident of that fateful Sunday afternoon. 

The incident has made such a long and lasting impact that locals say that since the tragedy struck, the waterfall has hardly seen any visitors.

Exactly a year ago six Goans from Salcete, Vasco and Ponda had got washed away in the raging currents of a otherwise small rivulet. Eyewitness recounted the horror in which the clear blue waters at Nagarmadi waterfalls suddenly started turning muddy, most of the 

hundreds of picnickers sensing trouble managed to get to higher grounds. However six of them unable to climb up from the stream clung to each other by holding hands and within minutes got swept by the turbulent gushing water. The bodies were recovered later.

Since then an unusual calm has descended on the hamlet which is at the foothills of the Nagarmadi waterfalls located in a picturesque location beside NH66 at Chendia about 10 kms from Karwar town. 

Santosh Naik, a villager staying downstream, said that the usual rush of picnickers has disappeared since six Goans died due to heavy rains in the catchment areas of the waterfall.

“This seasonal waterfall was very famous amongst Goans and people from Margao, Ponda, Vasco and Mapusa used to visit in large numbers on weekends. And on that day, there weere at least two hundred people in the waters; most were lucky as they realised that the water was rising and climbed to safer places. Whoever misjudged the situation couldn’t come out as the water rose to high level within a matter of minutes,” Naik added.

Devidas Naik, another local pointed out the presence of a board put by the authorities warning about the danger faced due to the terrain and depth at the water fall where the water gushes with a funnel like effect from a gap between three huge granite rocks.

Devidas further said that the Karnataka forest department had erected two more boards banning swimming in the waters of the Nagarmadi waterfalls after the tragic incident. 

Locals say that the presence of waterfall in their locality was a nuisance as most of the merrymakers used to park their vehicles haphazardly on the narrow internal road littering all sort of waste around. “But since last one year hardly anyone has visited this water fall,” an elderly woman from the village said. “A group of youth, both girls and boys had come to visit the waterfall last month, after we told them of the last year’s incident all of them left in a hurry,” she said. 

Sources said that at least seventeen people have lost their lives in recent years most of whom were from Goa. Two years back a 15-year-old, the only son of his parents from Goa drowned there.

Ravi Kosbekar, a journalist from Karwar, said that the Nagarmadi waterfall is enchanting and beautiful, but the vast catchment areas, with the steep slope and the water flowing through the gaps in the rocks with an invisible cave underneath makes the waterfall dangerous. Legends say that this waterfall has derived its name as it was a secret hiding place for cobras and the only way to be safe is to avoid the killer waterfall.