The beautiful waterfalls of Sattari are gradually turning safer for the genuine nature lovers and families, due to the crackdown by the Excise Department, Police and Forest officials for drinking and littering these pristine places.
In Sattari, there are 13 waterfalls at Saleli, Keri, Morle, Koparde, Pali, Charavane, Hivre, Nanoda, Sirguli, Bambar, Brahmakarmali, Shelpe and Chorla Ghat waterfalls. Come monsoons all these waterfalls attract lot of picnickers, trekkers and nature lovers.
All these waterfalls are located in remote villages of Sattari and attract lot of people every weekend. “The shops and hotels in these areas get lot of business after littering and drinking has been forbidden close to the waterfalls, say locals.
Once upon a time, people were unaware of the scenic beauty and serene environment of Sattari. Picnickers and trekkers have started visiting these waterfalls in large numbers for the last five years. However, the past two years, picnickers and trekkers are tossing plastic bottles, breaking alcohol bottles all over the waterfalls places and creating nuisance.
After observations, the panchayats’ members and villagers complained to authorities to take some action. So this year, all the concerned departments and authorities are taking a strict action on picnickers and trekkers who create nuisances.
“There are four waterfalls in the Nagargao Panchayat, so we hold a joint meeting with Valpoi police station inspectors, Excise officials and rottun forest officers of Mhadei Wildlife Sanctuary. During the meeting, we have requested them to ban alcohol and plastic near the waterfalls. Also we had written to traffic cell Bicholim to depute some staff to control the traffic situation. Beside this, we also requested Mhadei wildlife officer Prakash Salelkar to install some more dustbins at the waterfalls,” says Parag Khadilkar, Sarpanch of Nagargao Panchayat.
Some panchayats have started collecting parking fees for vehicles. According to the Panchas this is a good opportunity for the rural panchayats to generate some revenue.
“We are deputing two police constables on each waterfall during the weekend to avoid nuisance,” says Police Inspector Deepak Pednekar.
“The Excise Department Valpoi has seized liquor worth Rs 14,000 from two check points (Chorla Ghat and Hedode village) leading to Sattari waterfalls in the last two weeks,” says Amol Harwalkar, Excise Inspector.
