Goa's Mayem Lake crying for development

Mayem lake which is a natural beauty spot in Goa's hinterland side, has been a place visited by Goans who love to go here due to the natural scenic beauty of the place. However all such places need maintenance and help from the government if they should be promoted as the ideal tourist destinations for the world tourist. This  factor seems to be neglected as far as the Mayem lake is concerned and the local people of Mayem are therefore unhappy with the attitude of the government towards this beautiful spot which they feel is not being given due attention.

Blaming the tourism department, the residents of Mayem village feel that the tourism department has not undertaken any maintenance and development of the lake surroundings which is an incentive for tourists visiting the place.

Mayem lake is indeed a beautiful tourist spot with peaceful and serene surroundings but unfortunately lacks proper development as a result of which the condition of the lake is deteriorating. This has happened despite the residents of the area demanding from the authorities that they carry out some beautification activities of the lake and develop its surroundings . However there has been no response from the government.

The local population is therefore bitter with the government that such a beautiful spot has been neglected  by the government thereby denying the local population a means of generating some business revenue through the avenues with visiting tourists as also help the farmers around the area to get sufficient water supply for their fields and agricultural farms.

The lake which has a perimeter of about a kilometer has about three water streams locally named as " vhodlem tollem ( big lake)", "Shetwad Zara" and " Dhaktem Tollem"( small lake). the water of Vhoddlem tollem is used for fields  and agricultural farms while water from dhaktem tollem is utilised by farmers . Both these streams meet at 'fovachi kond" and this water is used for rabi crop cultivation by farmers from Kumbharwada, Sashtiwada and Sawnwada.

The main water source of the lake is the "shetwad zara"  which has weakened thereby leading to a drop in the lake's water level. During the past years the farmers used to de-silt the lake near its main stream but now with many villagers giving up farming , this practice has been discontinued.

The villagers are now expecting the panchayat and the  government authorities to see that the water resources are not affected and are maintained properly,

It is a general feeling among the villagers of Mayem lake that due to the basic amenities not being available at the lake tourists are reluctant to pay a visit to the place. According to them the negligence of the authorities towards beautification of the lake and the lack of proper facilities like boating, standard eateries and restaurants, cottages with proper amenities at reasonable rates, good gardens etc, the tourists have slowly declined and now rarely visit the spot. Also ironically, the private tourist buses which take tourists on sight seeing tours around the state of Goa do not include Mayem lake in their tour itinerary due to which the locals lose out on any such business.

The general perception  therefore is that while Mayem lake is a beautiful spot the government needs to step in and improve and enhance the facilities which have ample scope for development which could help restore and beautify this area with gardens, recreation facilities, restaurants, etc to ensure that this beautiful spot on is added more strongly on the tourist map of Goa.