Last year, as many as 54,736 people had booked tickets online while 73,423 had purchased tickets at the site. Nearly 1.28 lakh people had visited the heritage site between August and October last year.
Online bookings opened on Wednesday. File
Kaas plateau, 130 km from Pune, is all set to be open to the public from September 1. This year, the joint committee of forest officials and villagers have decided to restrict the daily number of visitors to 3,000 and they will be stopped at Satara itself.
Guides will be compulsory for groups of ten visitors, Anil Anjankar, Deputy Conservator of Forest (DCF), Satara told The Indian Express. Forest officials were keen on making online booking mandatory so as to restrict the flow of people who directly visited the plateau. “However, we will allow the sale of tickets at the site but the number of people will be restricted to 3,000 daily,” said Sachin Dombale, Range Forest Officer, Medha block at Jawli tehsil in Satara.
Due to good rain, the germination of flowers is likely to occur by the first week of September, Anil Anjankar, Deputy Conservator of Forest (DCF), Satara told The Indian Express. Online bookings opened on Wednesday, he said.
The plateau or Kaas Pathar — as it is known locally — transforms into a wildflower wonderland every monsoon. The colours of Maharashtra’s own valley of flowers will have vivid shades of pink balsams, yellow smithias and blue utricularias. UNESCO has listed Kaas in the list of world natural heritage sites and in recent years the increase in the number of tourists has also led to an indirect impact on the bio-diversity.
Last year, as many as 54,736 people had booked tickets online while 73,423 had purchased tickets at the site. Nearly 1.28 lakh people had visited the heritage site between August and October last year.
“While we have encouraged locals here to gain employment as guides and even start home stays, we are extremely strict that the plateau should not be treated as a picnic spot,” Anjankar cautioned.
Apart from fencing the areas to avoid tourist crushing the plants, this year parking of cars and other vehicles will not be allowed at the pathar. Around 400 metres from the plateau, visitors will be able to park their vehicles and the State Transport has provided mini buses which will ferry them to and fro at a minimal cost, forest officials said.
Comments