Goa: Famed Pomburpa spring sees spurt of frolickers, locals call for ban on outsiders over coronavirus fears

PANAJI: With the mercury increasingly rising above 35 degrees Celsius in May, the flow of visitors to the popular Pomburpa has started surging, prompting villagers to urge authorities to restrict its use to only locals.
The spring with a perennial flow is believed to have medicinal properties in its cool water and has been frequented by people from many parts of the state for a refreshing bath or a picnic to enjoy the hillside ambience.
“The number of visitors, including tourists from neighbouring states, has started increasing and due to the Covid-19 pandemic, our villagers are apprehensive about the risk to their lives,” Vijay Shirodkar, a local said.
The residents have sent a memorandum to various government agencies, including the tourism department and police to stop outsiders from visiting the spring for picnics and bathing.
“The visitors also drink liquor and fling the bottles everywhere, creating a mess and we cannot do much,” a local said.
The villagers said they have been traditionally using the spring at Palmar for bathing and other uses since hoary times.
A tourism department project had carried out beautification of the spring nearly a decade back. But lack of maintenance has caused decay, and villagers have appealed for a makeover for the spring. Special funds for the maintenance of the spring was announced at the time of the inauguration.
“The lights are not working and the infrastructure is in a bad condition,” Shirodkar said.
As part of the extensive beautification carried out back in 2010, the department had strived to retain the heritage value of the spring as well as its ambience. Separate cubicles for ladies and gents to change their garments were built, as well as a shower facility.
A children's park and eco nature reserve above the spring along with mini gardens and walking tracks were set up.
Elaborate arrangements for parking a stage for hosting cultural activities were also part of the plans conceptualised in 2008.