Where did the houseboats in Kashmir vanish?

The dilapidated state of most of the houseboats is due to the decades-long neglect and non-repair. Over the years, many houseboats in Lake Dal, Nageen and the Jhelum River have either become obsolete due to disasters or have become completely unusable due to drowning. As a result, many houseboat owners are facing unemployment because they have not been allowed to repair worn-out houseboats for years.

Srinagar:Tourism industry in Jammu and Kashmir which was once at its peak in the state has now been descended to nullity. Despite beautiful lakes like Dal Lake, Nigeen Lake, Wular Lake and Manasbal Lake around the capital city Srinagar the perceptible lull in houseboat business is having an adverse impact on the local business community.

The dilapidated state of most of these houseboats is due to the decades-long neglect and non-repair. Over the years, many houseboats in Lake Dal, Nageen and the Jhelum River have either become obsolete due to disasters or have become completely unusable due to drowning. As a result, many houseboat owners are facing unemployment because they have not been allowed to repair worn-out houseboats for years.

Under the new houseboat policy introduced this year, owners can fix houseboats with certain conditions, but who will compensate them for the losses that have occurred decades later? More importantly, where are the dockyards built 11 years ago to repair houseboats?

There was a time when there were thousands of houseboats in Dal Lake, Nagin and Jhelum River. Houseboats and hunting have a special significance and identity in the tourism industry. After visiting the Kashmir Valley, domestic and foreign tourists spend some moments of leisure time in these houseboats in Lake Dal and then refresh themselves and sit in the hunting ground and enjoy the view.

But the last few decades have witnessed a significant fall in the houseboats. There were about 2,500 in-house boats. Now their numbers have dwindled to just 911. Further, this year about 23 of these houseboats were completely worn out from the inside, while about 700 houseboats are partially damaged.

In 2010, the then government set up a dockyard in Dal Lake to repair the damaged houseboats can be repaired there, but despite the passage of time and a lot of money spent on it, but not a single houseboat has been repaired in the dockyard so far. The overall crumbling condition of the houseboats reflects the very efficacy of the so-called dockyard.

Separate dockyards were set up at Pakhri Bill and Lake Dal but they were of little use — they, in turn, became the cause of death of the houseboats. Worse, the dockyards have now become non-functional.

However, Tourism Director GN Itoo has assured that houseboats in and around Srinagar will be restored soon. "Work will be resumed very soon to make both the dockyards operational and would be completed on time," Itoo said, adding, "The department is committed to preserving the heritage on Lake Dal, providing financial support to those involved in the houseboat industry and reviving the tourism sector."

Hopefully, the 'Venice of the East' will soon be restored.