The head waiter Tahmeed tends to the drawing room aboard Katharine.
The head waiter Tahmeed tends to the drawing room aboard Katharine.
The head waiter Tahmeed tends to the drawing room aboard Katharine.
The head waiter Tahmeed tends to the drawing room aboard Katharine.

Floating palaces could sink into history


  • English
  • Arabic

Srinagar, India // The ornate wooden houseboats of Dal Lake, icons of Kashmir's once thriving tourism industry, may soon exist only on postcards. Almost all of the 1,200 houseboats, originally built during the British Raj as summer residences for its officials, sit empty on the lake's placid, jade-hued waters, amid the lotus fields and floating gardens, as their owners have been barred by the Lake and Waterways Development Authority (Lawda) from entertaining guests.

Lawda, the government agency responsible for controlling pollution in Kashmir's Dal and Nagin lakes, ordered all houseboat owners to stop operation or face forced closings after the High Court, on Feb 26, barred people from operating houseboats and hotels on the lake. The court order came after a pollution control board report, which found that sewage from the boats is a major source of pollution.

The campaign is part of the region's concerted effort to revitalise Kashmir after 19 years of violence. However, the order comes at the worst possible time for Kashmir's ailing tourism industry, as spring is traditionally the time of year when holiday makers from across India and the world visit the state. Muhammad Azim Tuman, the chairman of the Houseboat Owners Association, said the High Court has, ironically, hampered efforts to revitalise the region by shutting down the famous houseboats.

"Most tourists visiting the valley succumb to the temptation of these floating palaces, but as the word has gone out about the court asking for their closure, bookings are being cancelled," he said. "We're getting disturbing reports particularly from Mumbai that even after the local tour operators have publicised 30 to 35 per cent cuts in the tariff, they hardly find any takers." But the rampant pollution of Dal Lake, like that of others in the valley, had already begun to kill the romance of the resplendent houseboats.

Mr Tuman said the official studies carried out in the past have found that houseboats are responsible only for three per cent of pollution in Dal Lake. Environmentalists have also said that it is the refuse dumped by the city over the past few decades that is killing the lake. Also, both Dal and Nagin lakes face encroachment, in the form of floating gardens sprouting from islands inside the lake.

Mr Tuman said it did not make sense to blame the houseboats for the lake's demise, as other lakes in Anchar, Wullar and Manasbal were also suffering from pollution but did not host any houseboats. "We'll fight this court order," he said. The court hearing the case on April 4 may allow the houseboat owners a three-month grace period to operate and come up with a way to counter the effects of the pollution.

The court order exempts those who find alternatives to dumping refuse into the lake. Lawda has, on an experimental basis, said it will install a few mini-sewage treatment units on boats. The move might be too little too late, however. Four models of mini-sewage treatment units have been shortlisted for the trial after a two-year search, but "it will take them at least 90 days to decide which one is really useful", Mr Tuman said, adding that by that time, the peak tourist season will already be over.

He also pointed out that the houseboat owners who have been in the red ever since the breakout of violence in Kashmir may find the recommended units expensive. Lawda has also issued notices to hotels and guesthouses asking them to stop operations until they are able to show that they have established properly working sewage treatment units. Mr Tuman plans to travel to New Delhi to seek help from the leader of India's ruling United Progressive Alliance, Sonia Gandhi. "I've been told that the state government may not be helpful as it is known to be going through a financial crunch and that it is Mrs Gandhi who can save us from further impairment."

@Email:yjameel@thenational.ae

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Tearful appearance

Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday. 

Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow. 

She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.

A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.

The Gentlemen

Director: Guy Ritchie

Stars: Colin Farrell, Hugh Grant 

Three out of five stars

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While you're here

Michael Young: Where is Lebanon headed?

Kareem Shaheen: I owe everything to Beirut

Raghida Dergham: We have to bounce back

Iftar programme at the Sheikh Mohammed Centre for Cultural Understanding

Established in 1998, the Sheikh Mohammed Centre for Cultural Understanding was created with a vision to teach residents about the traditions and customs of the UAE. Its motto is ‘open doors, open minds’. All year-round, visitors can sign up for a traditional Emirati breakfast, lunch or dinner meal, as well as a range of walking tours, including ones to sites such as the Jumeirah Mosque or Al Fahidi Historical Neighbourhood.

Every year during Ramadan, an iftar programme is rolled out. This allows guests to break their fast with the centre’s presenters, visit a nearby mosque and observe their guides while they pray. These events last for about two hours and are open to the public, or can be booked for a private event.

Until the end of Ramadan, the iftar events take place from 7pm until 9pm, from Saturday to Thursday. Advanced booking is required.

For more details, email openminds@cultures.ae or visit www.cultures.ae

 

Other must-tries

Tomato and walnut salad

A lesson in simple, seasonal eating. Wedges of tomato, chunks of cucumber, thinly sliced red onion, coriander or parsley leaves, and perhaps some fresh dill are drizzled with a crushed walnut and garlic dressing. Do consider yourself warned: if you eat this salad in Georgia during the summer months, the tomatoes will be so ripe and flavourful that every tomato you eat from that day forth will taste lacklustre in comparison.

Badrijani nigvzit

A delicious vegetarian snack or starter. It consists of thinly sliced, fried then cooled aubergine smothered with a thick and creamy walnut sauce and folded or rolled. Take note, even though it seems like you should be able to pick these morsels up with your hands, they’re not as durable as they look. A knife and fork is the way to go.

Pkhali

This healthy little dish (a nice antidote to the khachapuri) is usually made with steamed then chopped cabbage, spinach, beetroot or green beans, combined with walnuts, garlic and herbs to make a vegetable pâté or paste. The mix is then often formed into rounds, chilled in the fridge and topped with pomegranate seeds before being served.

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