The iconic environmental activistSunderlal Bahuguna, who initiated theChipko movementto protect the green cover of the Himalayas, wantedGoansto strive for the conservation of the Western Ghats.
He first visited Goa in 1983 to attend the Paryavaran Chetana Saptah. He toured various places in Ponda, Salcete and Bicholim urging the youths to work unitedly to protect the Western Ghats forests, from where most of the regions rivers originate.
Bahuguna visited Goa again in 1986, where all the members of the save Western Ghats movement converged at Bandora. In his speech, he deliberated on a strategy to protect the Western Ghats for posterity.