The locals are now guarding the spot, especially on Saturday and Sunday, when the spot becomes crowded with tourists who want to beat the summer heat and enjoy a picnic.
The locals had held a meeting with the panchayat, including Collem Sarpanch Kiran Mamlekar, and had taken the decision to free their village from tourists who were polluting the clean water of Dudhsagar River, which is the only source of drinking water in Collem, by throwing food waste, plastic, broken bottles, etc, into it. They decided to implement the ‘ban’ on Saturday.
For the past few days, a large number of Collem locals have been forming two groups and preventing the entry of tourists who travel to the river from the railway track or their own vehicles.
After a resolution, the Collem Panchayat has also installed a board at Signal Kond informing visitors not to bath in the river.
A police personnel had reportedly been deputed there to keep tourists out, but the visitors never paid any attention to him.
According to locals, a pump has been installed in the river at Signal Kond to supply water for their drinking needs. A large number of tourists as well as Goan picnickers are attracted to the spot due to its scenic beauty, and they bathe near the pumps.
The locals further said that the tourists, after bathing in the river, pollute it by throwing waste materials, including broken liquor bottles, into it, and the locals are suffer as the polluted water is pumped and directly supplied to them.
Incidentally, the Dudhsagar River also provides water to the OPA water treatment plant at Khandepar.
