No one has
stopped us from enjoying the rainy days. Visit waterfalls as you please, go on treks, picnics and
have a blast this monsoon! Also, perhaps we can run, jump and play among all
the plastic and garbage floating in these areas.
Yes, it’s not new.
Many tourists and locals travel to different picnic and waterfall places and
leave behind their mess; only to get washed along the rainwater. We all know
that it ultimately leads to garbage pollution all around; Trash like plastic,
food waste, bottles and more. Yet, we blindly and foolishly indulge.
Recently, a group of
tourists left their waste after enjoying a day at a waterfall in Canacona. The
locals living in the area are quite displeased by this act of carelessness. The
most waste found in the area were alcohol bottles.
“There are people
coming to such areas, not only tourists even locals and they drink leaving
their bottles around. This isn’t only about littering the area, but the very
same people behave immaturely while drunk,” says Noha Faries, local from
Rivona. She talks of incidents such as mishaps near waterfalls, and fights. “It’s
not just garbage dirt, it’s these dangerous things that go on near our iconic
places of Go,” she adds.
Bamonbudo, Bupra,
Kuske and Gogel waterfalls are at huge risks currently with people dirtying the
area. The waste is easily led into the nearby flowing rivers. And with the
heavy rains these past few days, the trash has been flowing over all the
villages. According to reports, people living near such places have requested
law enforcement that would control the problems at Goa’s picnic spots.
Durgadas Parab,
organiser of Eco Treks, shares his experience learned from all the treks that
they have organised till date. “I have been interacting with officials and they
too are helpless. In fact, in all these years I have noticed that the locals
are the ones to encourage tourists. There are checkpoints at most of the
tourist spots and therefore locals living closer to such areas secretly supply
drinks to tourists for the sake of money,” says Parab.
He also points out
how people drink and leave broken alcohol bottles that later become a problem
for farmers. “I’ve got complaints of so many being injured during the cashew
season,” he adds. Currently, he has stopped treks after viewing the mess being
created in the monsoons.
Individual groups who
travel alone create this menace and get away without being noticed. But,
private trek and picnic organisers admit that no matter how much they advise
their groups to avoid littering, there are always some hooligans who cross the
line. “It’s because they pay money for the trip and don’t like if we correct
them,” says a trek organiser.
“People should start
carrying reusable cup, plates and bags to avoid the litter, maybe this could
improve the situation,” suggests Vibha Nagvekar, concerned local from Sankhli.
“I also strongly feel that it not only tourists dirtying beautiful places in
Goa, but also we locals,” she states.
It’s
true, as individuals it’s high time to realise that we are not only destroying
the image of Goa, but also endangering these iconic spots. Go for picnics,
enjoy your best, but make sure your own mess is cleared after you walk away.
