PONDA
The tourism season at the Dudhsagar waterfalls began on Monday after a delay of 23 days as compared to the previous year.
Those present at the function included Sanvordem MLA Ganesh Gaonkar, BJP State President Vinay Tendulkar, Dudhsagar Tour Operators Association Collem-Goa (DTOACG) President Dilip Mairekar, Vice President Tribolo Souza, Collem Sarpanch Kiran Mhamlekar, Mollem Sarpanch Kapil Naik and Range Forest Officer Dyaneshwar Kudalkar.
The 14-km journey by jeep operators from Bhagwan Mahavir National Park at Collem to the Dudhasagar waterfall is adventurous and many visitors, domestic and foreign, flock to the site.
Seven passengers are allowed in jeeps at a rate of Rs 400 per person and all visitors are made to use a life-saving jacket for a fee of Rs 30.
Speaking to The Goan, Mairekar said that restricting 225 jeeps per day during peak season would be insufficient to ferry an increasing number of tourists to Dudhsagar. “Due to this restriction, at least 2,000 visitors do not get a chance to visit Dudhsagar. If the government relaxes some of the restrictions, we will be able to take all tourists to the waterfalls as we have around 431 authorised jeeps for this route,” he said.
He also gave an option to the government to offer a flexible system, whereby the total number of trips would be worked out on the total number of days during the season and not on a daily basis. “In such a system, if we have fewer trips due to a lesser number of tourists on some days, we can make it up by having extra trips on days when tourist numbers are high,” explained Mairekar. Last year, the season began on October 1 and had ended on June 14.
