HUBBALLI: One could call it a jugaad necessitated by monsoon, for visitors have found a way to Dudhsagar in all its splendour. After the Goa government and railway authorities banned trekking at the popular waterfalls, a number of Goa groups are now taking tourists to the popular spot through illegal ways.
Adventure buffs are ready to even risk their lives by passing through unsafe and gushing streams, just to catch the monsoon glimpse of one of the tallest cascades in the country. The four-tier waterfalls takes a plunge from a height of over 1,000 feet, making it one of the most beautiful monsoon destinations.
The falls shot to fame after it was featured in a few movies including the Shah Rukh Khan-starrer Chennai Express. The waterfalls which was till then being visited mostly by tourists from Karnataka, Maharashtra and Goa suddenly started attracting people from across the country. With zero facilities and no road connectivity, large crowds only created more problems for railway operations at the spot. In 2015, many deaths were reported and damage to railway property was also reported, again during monsoon.
Railways was quick to respond and banned all kinds of activities including trekking and alighting at Dudhsagar Railway Station. Railway police started standing guard at Castle Rock Station in Karnataka and Colem Station in Goa to ensure no trekkers sneak inside the forest and try to get to the waterfalls from these nearby stations.
Now, cut to 2019 monsoon. Some groups in Goa are taking trekkers through the forest and it seems like there is some adjustment between forest guards and the trekking arrangers. As walking on railway tracks is not allowed, the trekkers are taken through Bhagwan Mahaveer Wildlife Sanctuary to reach the railway tracks after walking about 6 km. The trekkers have to go cross two gushing streams, which often swell during monsoon months.