The BSG hike to Dudhsagar waterfalls on Sunday the 5 th October was an exhilarating experience. Three Botany teachers were at hand to explain the flora as the plant associations changed from the Collem railway station through the hamlet below Sonaulim railway station and near the Dudhsagar[meaning 'ocean of milk' in Indian languages] waterfalls. The hikers ,from the dynamic Lt.Cmdr Jeetendra of INS Gomantak to the feeble footed girl in 'platform'sandals,enjoyed the hike. Even the uninitiated hiker, to whom the 14 km trek seemed endless til a moment before, was revived at the very sight of the Dudhsagar waterfalls gushing in all its milky majesty covering almost the entire rock face !
It was a big group that included student members of Botany, zoology,biotechnology and geology from the Dhempe College of Arts & Science,Miramar-Panaji and of microbiology and commerce from Government Collge,Khandola-Ponda. Adult members of the BSG came from all walks of life and all ages. Non-members of BSG came from LIC and an optic fiber unit in Verna. Near the Railway signal at Dudhsagar there is a small shrine of Mary,the mother of Jesus, which has bells as in a typical hindu shrine. Here we met Santosh Naik, a resident of Kuvashi hamlet [population: 100 persons]on the Goa -Karnataka border atop the waterfalls. The hamlet literally sits on the border,with its 20 houses sprawled in either state. Their closest market is Castle Rock, a good hour's walk for the locals. Tyros and plainspeople will need at least two hours to negotiate the 18 odd kilometers of hilly terrain. Subhash walks about 45 minutes from Kuvashi to Dudhsagar every Sunday evening to travel to his work place in Molem. A big disappointment was the monkey menace at the waterfalls that made it almost impossible to eat lunch. The hikers ahd to cross the tunnel to the Dudhsagar railway station to enjoy a snack without disturbance by the monkeys. The station master,Mr.I.Anthony[who told us that he opted to come back to this station after having served there in the early 1990s because he enjoyed the quiet surroundings] had to bear up more than an hour of 'Antaxari' of hindi film songs,both old and new. The songs kept the monkeys at bay. We do hope that the Forest Department and its officials in charge of the Bhagwan Mahavir Wildlife Santuary will relocate these monkeys during the tourist season. The watch tower and the other facilities could also do with a touch of paint and some repairs. A ladies toilet/urinal would be a great help. A water pipeline using gravity for distribution already exists. Miguel Braganza --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.516 / Virus Database: 313 - Release Date: 9/1/2003 ########################################################################## # Send submissions for Goanet to [EMAIL PROTECTED] # # PLEASE remember to stay on-topic (related to Goa), and avoid top-posts # # More details on Goanet at http://joingoanet.shorturl.com/ # # Please keep your discussion/tone polite, to reflect respect to others # ##########################################################################
