Abel Pascoal Barretto
CANACONA: The locals staying close to the waterfalls in Canacona are irked over the fact that the hordes of tourists visiting these falls leave all types of trash, from liquor bottles to plastic wrappers thereby littering the environment together with peace of mind of the locals.
Since social media has became a reality a couple of years back, the pictures of some of the magnificent waterfalls in and around Canacona have gone viral and received widespread recognition as tourist spots.
Now with thousands of tourists visiting these tranquil places, the once serene and peaceful places have become polluted with all types of trash scattered all around which these merrymakers fail to take with them while winding up their day’s trip.
The voiceless locals, who mostly belong to weaker section of the society, are upset over the fact that the picnickers consuming unlimited alcoholic beverages from morning to dusk as they have to bear the constant discomfort and disturbances in their otherwise peaceful locality.
Huge piles of waste dumped by these tourists are seen scattered near the waterfalls some of it finds its way into the river in which they flow eventually.
Prominent on the list of waterfalls which are most affected are Bamonbudo and Bupra in Gaondongrem, Kuske in Cotigao and Gogel in Sadolxem.
Kusta Gaonkar, deputy sarpanch of Gaondongrem Village Panchayat while speaking to Herald lamented that in spite of these people mainly youth coming from the educated and respected families indulge in unruly behaviour under the influence of alcohol.
“With things going out of control, we have requested the law enforcement agencies to control the unlimited consumption of alcohol and disposal of the waste near these waterfalls,” he said.
“These places are as holy to us as our religious places and we need to maintain discipline while enjoying nature’s bliss,” Gaonkar stressed.
Chandrakant Velip, who stays close to Bhupra waterfall, expressed helplessness and pointed out the mess these picnickers create in the otherwise peaceful and clean locality.
“Loud music, drinking over the limit, speeding vehicles, unruly behaviour, throwing waste anywhere and frequent accidents is a common issue since the outside world came to know about these waterfalls, we are learning to live with these,” said Velip.
