Srinagar: Kashmir’s beautiful Nigeen and Dal Lakes, once bustling with the joy and joy of tourists and the excitement of Shikaras, are now shrouded in silence. Following the terrorist attack in Pahalgam on April 22nd, the number of tourists has declined significantly, severely impacting the livelihoods of houseboat and Shikara owners. This crisis has plunged Kashmir’s tourism industry into a deep crisis.
Kashmir’s Nigeen Lake and Dal Lake, famous for their beautiful houseboats and Shikaras, are now silent. Instead of the throngs of tourists, only the sound of the waves can be heard. The number of tourists in Kashmir has declined significantly since the terrorist attack in Baisaran Meadow, Pahalgam, on April 22nd this year, which killed 25 tourists and a local guide. Houseboat and Shikara owners have suffered the most.
Mohammad Yakub Dunu, who runs a houseboat on the Negin Lake, says that 10 rooms on his three houseboats are vacant. In the past five months, he’s received only one booking, and that too at a cheap rate. Dunu says, “We accommodated seven tourists from Pune and Bengaluru for just 12,000 rupees, including breakfast and dinner.” His houseboats had been hosting tourists for 109 years, but now he’s having to lay off employees.
Following the terrorist attack, the government closed 46 tourist sites in Kashmir, further increasing fear among tourists. Chief Minister Omar Abdullah condemned this decision and said it harmed efforts to promote tourism. Dunu, who has three children and ailing parents, says that even in the 1990s, he hasn’t seen unemployment as high as it is now.
For houseboat owners, this crisis poses a threat to their livelihoods. Each houseboat costs at least 1.2 lakh rupees annually to maintain, but the owners don’t even have enough money to support their families. One owner said he’s struggling to pay his children’s school fees. The school principal waived one month’s fees, but that’s not always the case.
Manzoor Ahmad Pakhtun, chairman of the Kashmir Houseboat Owners Association, said, “We were hoping for a return of tourists this season, but there are no bookings or inquiries. Only 40 of the 3,000 rooms are occupied.” Farooq Ahmad Kuthu, president of the Travel Agents Association of Kashmir, said the attack has created an “unprecedented crisis” for the tourism industry. Many hotels and houseboats have closed, and people are unable to repay their loans.
Kuthu further said, “Many establishments have stopped their operations because they are unable to recover their costs. In the last three years, there has been huge investment in the tourism sector, especially in big hotels. But now due to lack of tourists, people are facing difficulty in paying the monthly installments.”
