Mehbooba Mufti, Omar Abdullah meet houseboat owners affected by fire

Former chief ministers of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir, Mehbooba Mufti and Umar Abdullah, Tuesday, visited houseboat owners in Nigeen lake whose houseboats burned down in the fire on Monday.

Srinagar: Former chief ministers of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir, Mehbooba Mufti and Omar Abdullah, Tuesday, visited houseboat owners in Nigeen lake whose houseboats burned down in the fire on Monday. Seven houseboats were gutted in the massive blaze.

"Visited Nageen lake to meet the owners of the houseboats that were gutted in a recent fire," the Vice President of the Jammu and Kashmir National Conference (JKNC) and former CM Omar Abdullah wrote on Twitter. Praising the houseboat owners' bravery, Abdullah said, "The owners ensured that all the tourists were evacuated safely even though that meant they weren’t able to shift some of the boats away from the path of the fire."

President of the National Conference and Member of Parliament Dr Farooq Abdullah also raised the issue of these fire victims in Parliament and demanded the government give them full compensation.

"Srinagar Lok Sabha MP Dr Farooq Abdullah raised this issue during Zero Hour & has asked the government to compensate these owners for their losses," Omar Abdullah said on Twitter.

People's Democratic Party (PDP) President Mehbooba Mufti also met with those affected by the fire. Talking to the media on the occasion, Mufti said that these houseboat owners managed to get the tourists out safely while risking their lives and property for which they deserve appreciation.

She appealed to the government to provide immediate assistance to the victims and provide them with easy bank loans so that they could resume their work.