If you search Kaas on GOOGLE or Wikipidia you will know that The Kaas Plateau also known as the "Kaas Pathar" is situated in the Western Ghat Sahyadri range, 22 kilometers fromSatara city in Maharashtra , India. The name Kaas originates from Kaasa tree (Elaeocarpus glandulosus). Leaves of this tree turn green to red as they mature. It gets white flowers only for 15 days in the month of March. The area of plateau is approximately 1,000 hector
The plateau is full of wild flowers during the months of August and September. These flowers bloom on their own and stay for about 2–3 weeks (depending on the monsoon and other weather factors). Recently it has been declared as Biodiversity World heritage site by The United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco). It has an small lake nearby, It is a natural tranquil Kaas lake surrounded by dense forests. To the left of the lake lies Sajjangad fort and Kanher Dam is to the right. The place has more than 850 different species of flowers and other plants including Orchids,टोपली Karvy and carnivorous plants such as Drosera Indica.
A lot has been written and said by all of us about KAAS Plateau highlighting how ignorant, irresponsible the general public is , how they are usually less interested in Flowers, their uniqueness, their importance etc.etc and more interested in plucking them or taking photos in unusual positions , spoiling the flowers etc.There are also lot of complaints about the massive traffic jams encountered by enthusiasts during weekends, and about general lack of infrastructure.....A lot of very good suggestions are also floating around..
While it is extremely vital that a general awareness is being created through such posts and dialogue, we must also understand and accept some harsh realities……
We simply love to blame others for everything wrong around us
seldom accepting that we are part of the crowd as wel. We need to change the mindset , be pro-active and
sensitive to environment .
There is absolutely no harm in enjoying but if done with a bit of caution we will be able to savor the beauty of this marvel for many many more years.There is enough for everyone here...
There is absolutely no harm in enjoying but if done with a bit of caution we will be able to savor the beauty of this marvel for many many more years.There is enough for everyone here...
This reminds me of an
old debate which was at forefront when Jog Engineering proposed and implemented
the Raigad Ropeway….Lot many trekkers opposed the move saying it will have
adverse impact,the true sense of the might of forts,its history can be better enjoyed/understood when climbed
all the way rather than zipping up and reaching the top in two minutes…they
felt that we are demeaning Shivaji Maharaj, his Mawalas and their herculean effort
in making SWARAJYA what it is ….Its a major trade off between popularizing our
History, making it accessible to all( including Senior citizens who can’t climb
) and trekking. The popular forts like Raigad, Shivneri,Sinhgad are testimony
to this.
Similar thing is happening at KAAS….the botanists ,biologists, the environmentalists want the number of people visiting the Plateau, to be controlled… They want to get rid of tourists/picnickers who knoingly or unknowingly spoil the nature or at the least to be restricted or fined but its simply unrealistic to expect everyone to have that mindset… even I go there more for photography than studying botany …ideally we must continue our efforts in educating, sensitizing people visiting the place .My observation is the young Students from nearby schools who visit the plateau as picnic are much much more wel behaved than the Adults...
KAAS Plateau is unique for many reasons and one of the major
one is that the life span of the flowers blooming on the plateau is max three
weeks. It effectively means three weekends only. With the advent of social
media and every Rahul,Vinod and Raju ( Indian
Tom, Dick n Harry) uploading their pics, all newspapers reporting about it,its but natural that those
who can visit will flock to the place to be part of the action.
We in India realize that Infrastructure lags behind Growth big time and KAAS is no exception. What goes against KAAS and somewhat justifies( if I may use the word)Governments relative apathy apart from lack of sensitivity and negligence ,is a fact that we want Infrastructure to be created and maintained for the whole year to be effectively utilized for six to ten days only ….I am in no way suggesting that we should maintain or accept status quo….
It must be noted that
the fencing and patrolling happened only after the area was declared protected
Biodiversity zone by UNESCO, till then even I have roamed around the Plateau
freely… Things will change for better albeit slowly but surely…
To solve the transport problem and massive
traffic jams ,this can be done easily and immedi---- Few kilometers before KAAS Plateau, there is a similar big
plateau where already few stall have come up…Government and Forest Authorities
can create a big parking place here easily.. From here onwards there must be
Government Shuttle Buses (maybe open Rooftop Double deckers) plying continuously
till KAAS, dropping and picking up visitors at regular intervals free of cost. 
Mobile toilets and washrooms can be placed at these places along with makeshift sitting arrangements, refreshments etc…Strictly no permanent structures as these things are required for three four weeks only.
Sufficient parking fee, entry fee and camera fee( for mobiles as wel) to be charged here to cover all the operational costs…If the project is self-sufficient then the chances of success are more…
Sufficient number of guides for those who wish
to avail of the services ( a bit
difficult to achieve )
