Adorned with awe-inspiring and uniquely architectured temples, Kavlem, blessed with the presence of Goddess Shantadurga is one of the most attractive tourist destinations that should be developed to promote tourism in a big way.
The scenic natural surroundings and peace of mind that the temples evoke, make them a welcome detour from the overdone beach tourism.
The temple town of Ponda is frequented by domestic and foreign tourists alike due to the marvelous temples at Mangueshi, Mhalsa and Bandora and Kavlem declared as tourist spots.
However, much as these places are sought after by tourists, infrastructure at these places is poorly developed with tourists facing parking problems in front of the Shantadurga Temple at Kavlem, beside narrow roads leading to the village.
The around 25 metres Patto road passing from in front of the temple dividing the agricultural land is presently used by tourists to park their vehicles and it often is the scene of nerve-wracking traffic congestion as the same road is used by locals.
The government had a 10-year-old proposal for parking, which would be developed in the fields in front of temple. A meeting was also held in this regard a few years ago in at the Kavlem panchayat gram sabha. While some people were in favour of developing a parking lot in the field, the majority opposed it, on the grounds that it would destroy agricultural land and the scenic beauty of field and the narrow road, which should be preserved which was in existence since the installation of Goddess Shantadurga in Kavlem many centuries back.
According to Kavlem Sarpanch Rajesh Kavlekar, they are presently facing a parking problem in Kavlem for many years. He said efforts are on to construct a parking lot at Kavlem along with full-fledged toilet facilities. “We had in the past sent a memorandum to the Tourism Department pointing out that the tourists and devotees are facing parking problems. Due to lack of toilet facilities, tourists and devotees, especially women face regular hardships. We had also asked the Tourism Department to hand over the unused dilapidated tourist hotel and dormitories to the panchayat so that they could be used in the best interests of the village, but there has been no response from the Tourism Department,” Kavlekar said. Recently, he claimed he had once again contacted the department, which he said, had shown willingness to cooperate and address the issues raised by the panchayat.
Locals, along with Shankar Naik, a businessman, said that there is lot of land acquired by the Tourism Department in Kavlem. If the traffic police are deployed, the land can be used for parking, as many people are unaware that vehicles can be parked there. According to Shankar Naik, at least 40 tourist buses can be parked in the said area acquired by Tourism Department. Further, there are tourist hostel and dormitories lying idle and in a dilapidated condition for the past eight years.
“What is the use of keeping this structures and land with the Tourism Department when so many people visiting our village face parking and other problems? These unnecessary structures should be demolished and land vacated for parking,” Naik said.
“As far as parking in fields is concerned, I am strongly opposed to such an idea as it will destroy the fields and the open spaces in front of the temple. The parking in front of the temple will destroy the beauty of the temple. The ideal parking space should be located on the land acquired by Tourism Department which is situated just next to the Patto road at the foot of Marutigad Hills,” Naik said.
“Further there is an access road from the Tourism Department acquired land on the Dhavlim-Farmagudi bypass road which means that tourists can come from national highway from this access road to parking area and so also they can take out their vehicles from this road connected to the highway without creating any congestion or traffic disturbance. I don’t understand why Government is neglecting the parking problem,” Naik said.
