SRINAGAR: The government of Himachal Pradesh is readying to introduce water body tourism in the state on the analogy of Kashmir’s Dal Lake.
The HP government is contemplating to introduce shikaras, houseboats and cruise boats under a new scheme of tourism department, in its major water bodies which are mainly the reservoirs of the hydropower projects, besides promoting the water sports, Hindustan Times reported.
The proposal to introduce the shikaras and houseboats at the Maharana Pratap Sagar (Pong Dam) in Kangra district on the lines of Dal Lake is expected to become a major hit in tourism sector in North India, HT reported.
It reported that the Himachal Pradesh government has approached the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) and National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) to allow setting up tourism infrastructure along the water bodies.
The NTPC operates 300-megawatt Kol Dam Hydroproject while the BBMB operates Bhakra Power Project and Pong Dam project.
Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu had recently asked the officers to prepare a new policy to promote Chamera, Pong, Bhakra and Koldam from a tourism point of view.
Notably, tourism constitutes seven percent of Himachal’s GDP and 14.42 percent of direct and indirect employment to the total employment in the state.
To develop new tourist destinations, the state government had implemented a new scheme “Nai Rahein Nai Manzilein” in the year 2018-19 to develop the unexplored areas of the state from tourism point of view.
The government is further mulling to develop infrastructure for promoting water sports activities and other tourism related activities along these water bodies in the state.
Srinagar, Apr 10: With highest numbers of tourists visiting Kashmir, the builders of shikaras in Kashmir say that demand is on rise as unemployed youth are earning their livelihood by signing up as a boatman in Dal Lake.
A third generation shikara maker, Ghulam Nabi of Baba Mohalla Dal Lake told news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), that since last 35 years, he has been making Shikara but demand has picked up since last year.
“As last year there was a good tourism season, the demand for Shikara has increased as more and more unemployed youth are starting Shikara so as to at least earn some money for themselves,” he said as per news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO).
According to him, they too have to face many challenges as timber is not easily available and rates are high.
“It usually takes a person around 15-20 days to make one Shikara and mostly deodar strongest timber is used in making it,” he said.
A Shikara costs around 2.5-3 lakhs and around 35 ft of timber is required to make a boat.
His Shikaras are in use in Mansar and Tawi in Jammu, Hyderabad, Bengal, Rajasthan and other places as well.
But he complained that the government has never supported them while requesting the authorities to give them timber for continuing their craft—(KNO)
Pulwama, Mar 27: A talented woman from South Kashmir has created the world’s smallest Shikara in Mandala Art, getting entry in Indian Book of Records.
Mahira Shah (24), a resident of Pinglish Tral who has got married in Sallar Pahalgam has made pieces of different things that are uniquely associated with Kashmir so as to promote Kashmir.
Mahira told news agency–news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), that she is a self-taught mandala artist as she was interested in the art since her childhood and started making different art pieces in 2008.
“In 2008, I started doing paintings and sculptures but as I proceeded to make myself better in this field of art, my art pieces were not so attractive following which I got an idea of making mandala art and succeeded in it,” Mahira said.
“With the blessings of Allah, I became interested in creating/breaking world records. With this dedication I created the world’s first and smallest Shikara in mandala art,” she said.
“When I made the shikara in mandala art with the intention of making a world record. I applied for the Indian Book of Records recently and after being verified by the team, I got confirmation mail from them of creating a world record,” she added.
According to Mahira, who is a mother of one, they nominated her for the gold medal as well.
She said that before marriage, her parents were very supportive to her and after the marriage her in-laws are also supporting her very well.
“Since my childhood, I had a passion to promote Kashmir and things related to Kashmir in the whole World, she said, adding, so far she has made different art pieces that are widely appreciated,” Mahira said.
She claimed that she had also made another world record of making kangri in mandala art and has applied for Asian Books of Records, however, she is expecting confirmation in this regard very soon.
“My prior message for our youth is to be consistent in any field you are trying to conquer, and never losing hope and most of all todays youth got so much demoted that they are commiting suicides,” she said.
Mahira said she is looking to get appreciation and encouragement from people as well as the administration—(KNO)
They may all be boatmen but they have a lot of divisions dictated by the services they deliver and the professions they adopt. Insha Shirazi reports about the newer challenges to the people living in Dal lake
“Houseboats were founded at the end of the eighties by Colonel R Sartorius, vc; and Sir H Harvey, Bart, and Martyn Kennard, I think, owned the first two crafts,” Lt Col Joshua Duke, the British Residency surgeon in Srinagar for many years, wrote in 1900. “Mr Kennard’s boat cost a great deal of money and is still on the river.”
Duke’s series of guidebooks, a huge collection of graphic descriptions of the nineteenth and twentieth-century Kashmir, however, acknowledges the fact that the boats existed in Kashmir prior to the intervention as well. “Since then they have multiplied in variety, shape, size, cost, etc, to a certain extent they take the place of houses, still very deficient in Srinagar.” The Doonga boat, however, existed.
Those were the days when the boatmen (Heanz) were the key drivers of life. They were the main transporters within the twin Kashmir lakes and managed most of the cargo between South and North Kashmir. Movement within Srinagar was only because of them. Given this advantage over others, they were close to any visitor that came to Kashmir. Most of the Kashmir travelogues are based on their interaction with the boatmen.
Divisions
Since then, diversity among the boatmen existed. There were different types of boatmen and that sub-division still exists. The divisions are based strictly on the type of professions the particular family was engaged with.
Fishing is a major economy for the communities living on the Wullar lake shores. Off late, however, the fishermen said the government is contributing negatively to the sub-sector putting them to losses. KL Image: Bilal Bahadur
Fisherman: These are the Gadeh–haenz’s whose main source of income is fishing. They live within and around the lake of Dal and Wular. Their men catch fish and their women sell it in the market.
Lotus Growers: They are called Gaer Haenz. These people are primarily farmers who grow Lotus and chestnuts. Though both grow naturally, they harvest the nadroo (Nilumbium) and the chestnut and market them. Water chestnuts mostly grow in Wular. Some of them, off late, have lost their access to water areas where the plant grows rendering them jobless. Now, they work for others during harvesting. Lotus stem apart, they also harvest green and black trapa, fodder, and other plants.
Vegetable Growers: In their own parlance, they are known as demb-heanz. They are the main cultivators of the Dal lake and most of the vegetables marketed in Srinagar city come from them.
Boatmen: Despite the fact that Doonga’s no longer exist but a major section of the boatmen who own houseboats and shikara taxis are locally known as Dungehhaenz. They offer accommodation to tourists in their luxurious houseboats and have decent careers doing so. This category of boatmen is the most advanced and economically sound. They are cosmopolitan in nature as they have relations across the world. Some of them have retained their houseboats and are living in plush homes. A number of them, now own good hotels as well.
Hunters: Though they do not exist, there has been a sub-group called Ayer-heanz, who made a living by hunting. It is said they used to live in or around forests.
Transporters: Kashmir’s transportation and cargo were managed by horsemen or boatmen. Boatmen who owned huge barges for moving cargo were locally known as Bahatsi–heanz. Interestingly, the section of these transporters who were transporting timber was called Mata-heanz.
Challenges
All these people have been under pressure for one or the other reason. The last 100 years saw the complete disappearance of the transportation dungas as the roads were built even within the Dal Lake. Hundreds of families were relocated off the lake under the Dal restoration plan. They have homes far away from the ecosystem they were brought up in.
Now, newer tensions have cropped up. “I have been running a Shikara boat in the Dal Lake for 40 years. I pick up customers from various ghats to the houseboats,” Ghulam Rasool said. “Our boats have problems but we are not being permitted to repair them.”
Official records suggest there were 1103 houseboats and Dunga boats in 2000 and 157 of them were decommissioned in 2007-08, reducing their number to 910. With repairs being denied the numbers will go down further as fires and routine wear and tear are taking their toll. Insiders in the lake said the number of working houseboats could be much lower as no new houseboat was built in the last more than two decades.
Tariq Ahmad Pingloo a houseboat owner in Dal Lake said they have been squeezed into the lake. “It is rare to see hanjis in the Jhelum River. Quite a few houseboats are left in the river now,” he asserted.
Caught in Kashmir’s age-old peculiar casteism – that sees them as a clan apart, the boatmen are regretting a peculiar stereotyping of the community. “We are being accused of polluting the lakes,” Tariq said. “Why do not people understand the fact that the lake is our universe and we cannot pollute it because it is linked to our survival?” The government has gone to court, more than once, accusing the community living in the lake of polluting the water body. This is the key factor for rejecting the repair request by owners.
