The popular Pomburpa spring holds a marble plague prominently on the wall with a message engraved in Portuguese– Esta’ Fonte sido armada em beneficio do Publico pelos Irmaos Augusto Mathias Pinto e Joaquim Vicente Pinto de Olaulim- custo approximado Rs 4000 AD 1915.
As no maintenance has taken place for some time, the words are getting faded and it is almost getting invisible. Soon reading and understanding it will almost be impossible and I feel it should be replaced with a new plaque. Besides, maintaining the Portuguese essence, it should also be translated into English and the official language with another plague to be fixed on either side of the main plaque to provide a little history about the spring and perhaps its environmental importance for the present and future generation including the visiting tourist.
The generosity of the two brothers who maintained the spring with the initial amount of Rs 4000 in 1915 makes interesting reading.
The spring is not a man-made drain and is a nature’s gift and we must ensure that we take utmost care to maintain it for future generations. We have heard of the government move to install CCTV cameras on bridges, district roads, highways and bus stands etc. But I feel we also need to install CCTV cameras on places of historical importance and places of tourist attractions, especially if ugly incidents tarnish the image of tourism in Goa.
