Valley’s floating wonders in dire straits

M Aamir Khan

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, July 11

The Kashmir valley’s floating wonders and one of the prime tourist attractions — houseboats — are struggling to stay afloat yet again after the recent flood scare. Due to the recurrent flood threats, houseboat owners have raised an alarm over the preservation of these heritage marvels.

“Due to heavy rains that raise the water levels, almost half-dozen houseboats got damaged recently. Due to flood threats and other issues, houseboats that are synonymous with Kashmir tourism and are a part of our heritage, are facing an uphill battle for survival. If the authorities concerned do not get serious, houseboats may soon become a thing of the past,” said Kashmir Houseboat Owners Association (KHBOA) chairman Abdul Hamid Wangnoo.

Positioned along the banks of the Dal and Nigeen lakes and intricately carved out of deodar wood, the houseboats are famous for their unique architecture and walnut furniture with typical Kashmiri designs. Synonymous with Kashmir tourism, the houseboats were made more famous by the Bollywood.

Besides Indian filmstars and other high-profile guests, international celebrities like Beatles lead guitarist George Harrison and guests like Nelson Rockefeller, the 41st US vice-president, too have been attracted to the houseboats that usually have bedrooms attached with a living room just like luxury hotel suites.

According to KHBOA, 15 houseboats were completely destroyed while 250 others were partially damaged in the floods during September 2014. Besides weather vagaries, the owners say it has become difficult to preserve houseboats due to the dire financial conditions of the owners caused by low tourist inflow besides hassles in getting renovation permits.

“They have financial problems. After the 2014 floods, tourist inflow declined considerably. Houseboat owners are doing just 10 to 15 per cent of the work as compared to before and the renovation work is very expensive and many do not have any other source of income. Moreover, a houseboat is a movable property and requires repair from time to time… it is not easy to get permits for renovation either,” said Wangnoo.

An official of the Tourism Department said 910 houseboats were registered with the department but the owners say the number is much less.

“Once we had around 1,500 houseboats but I feel now there are just around 550. Moreover, some houseboats are so old that they could collapse if moved from one spot to another,” said Ejaz Kotru, a houseboat owner at the Dal Lake.

He was referring to the High Court order regarding the relocation of houseboats to the Dole Demb area of the Dal Lake. The order had been passed by the court in a bid to prevent pollution in the Dal and to supervise the state government’s efforts to conserve the lake.

Meanwhile, Wangnoo said owners of 300 economy class houseboats had almost given up and were not in a condition to look after them.

As per the court orders, for the Dal Lake beautification and proper sewage disposal, the government is planning to create five clusters of 76 houseboats at the Dole Demb area inside the lake.

Struggling to stay afloat

• Number of houseboats in Srinagar’s water bodies has dipped from 1,500 to 900
• For beautification, five clusters of 76 houseboats are to be set up at Dole Demb area of Dal Lake 
• Houseboat owners say permission for repair and procurement of timbre cumbersome
• Owners have been decrying government apathy over lack of funding for preserving houseboats