The famous Mayem Lake is in the midst of a controversy, with the Mayem panchayat and the company managing the lake locking horns over the entry fees to the site.
While the Champions Group, which is managing the Mayem Lake, wants to increase the entry fee from Rs 10 to Rs 50, the local panchayat has strongly opposed any move to increase the entry fee to the lake.
The Champions Group had made recent attempts to increase the entry fee, but was forced to roll back on the fees following opposition from the local panchayat and locals.
“We will not allow any increase of entry fees for the locals. It’s absurd that the company is trying to increase entry fee to the lake when there has not been any hike since the last many years. They are also trying to remove shops located outside the lake and we have taken a stand to oppose such moves,” Mayem Panch Kishor Karbotkar told Herald.
“A meeting was convened with the MLA and we have already raised the issue. We have convened another meeting and will decide on it. Now, they are trying to increase the entry fees to Rs 50, later they might increase it to Rs 100. We will never tolerate this,” warned Karbotkar.
Champions Group Vice President D D Naidu said there was a plan to increase the entry fee and the tourism minister had agreed to it.
“We had increased the feebut since there was opposition we had to roll back. We are providing many facilities and and we are also giving them a complimentary soft drink worth Rs 30. In the sense, we are only charging Rs 20 as an entry fee,” he explained.
