Visitors must pay waste fee to enter temple

The village panchayat of Sancordem plans to charge a garbage clearance fee for visitors to the Tambdi Surla temple, starting April 1. This fee will apply to all visitors coming to popular tourist spots in the area. Deputy sarpanch Shirish Dessai explained that this measure is necessary to manage the rising costs of waste disposal. He noted that they must send vehicles and workers to clean the temple area at least four times a month, while other places only need attention once a month. Currently, the panchayat spends about Rs 6 lakh each month on waste management, with roughly half of that amount going to the Tambdi Surla area. The panchayat hopes that introducing this fee will help maintain cleanliness and encourage more tourists, supporting the local economy.