Two houseboats sink in Kashmir's Dal Lake within 24 hours; Snow plays spoilsport

As the Kashmir valley continues to receive season's fresh snowfall, the houseboats are now sinking under the weight of the snow. Two houseboats sank in Dal Lake amid heavy snowfall in the Valley overnight. 

Since the onset of December 12, Srinagar city witnessed season's first snowfall, draping the entire city in a blanket of snow. However, in Dal lake, the snowfall spelled a disaster. The houseboats named, New Shimla and Bulzimar sank in the middle of Dal Lake on Wednesday, January 6. 

Nine boats have sunk in the last 6 months 

So far nine have houseboats have sunk in the last six months as more houseboats have started to collapse reason being the owners could not afford the maintenance of the boats, especially the wooden coring which costs approximately Rs 60,000 to Rs 80,000 depending upon the size and the state of the boat.

There was been a drastic slump in the tourism sector of Kashmir since last August and investing in repairing and reconstruction can burn a hole in the pockets of the houseboat owners. The Shikarawallas are now dismantling the boats to sell the leftover timber for meagre sums that no way can be compared to the cost required to build one.

The Kashmir Valley, in which tourism is a vital part of the economy, is home to approximately 950 houseboats. But since the Central government imposed a security lockdown in August 2019 due to abrogation of Article 370, tourists have steered clear of the Valley.