Srinagar, Aug 28 (KNO): With the Jhelum river swelling after days of heavy rains, houseboat and boat owners in Srinagar have renewed their long-standing demand for rehabilitation, warning that their floating homes are once again on the brink of disaster.
Many boatmen say the situation is reminiscent of the 2014 floods that submerged large parts of Srinagar and destroyed dozens of boats.
“We cannot live in fear every monsoon. The government promised us rehabilitation, but only paperwork has been completed,” one of the houseboat owners told the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO).
He said whenever it rains, they are on the brink and struggling to evacuate water from their houseboats.
Kashmir Houseboat Owners Association (HBOA), Manzoor Paktoon, speaking to KNO, said the paperwork and formalities have been finalised and only pending is land allotment.
"We request the authorities to step in and act fast. The CM Omar Abdullah-led administration must look into it,” he said.
Boat owners living near the Bund and Chinar Bagh said they have already started evacuating boats to safer banks. “Every hour, we adjust ropes and check water levels. A small breach can sink us within minutes,” said Ali Mohammad, a houseboat dweller from Bund Lal Chowk, Srinagar. "The memories of 2014 are still fresh, and we do not want to face the same tragedy again."
Other members of the houseboat community said their rehabilitation issue has been pending for years despite repeated assurances. “We completed all documentation. We even had several meetings with officials, but nothing moved beyond files. We appeal to the government to act now, before another flood devastates us,” said a member of the community.
The demand is not new. In the past, successive governments proposed the relocation of houseboats from Jehlum and Dal Lake to safer colonies due to rising pollution and frequent floods. However, delays and the lack of financial support have left the heritage in decline.
From nearly 750 houseboats floating over rivers of the Kashmir Valley, many of them are on the Jhelum and at Chinar Park—Tsooni Koul, with those too in poor condition.
Recalling the shift, Rafiq Ahmad, another boatman from Chinar Bagh, Tsooni Koul, said, “In our childhood, floods brought logs and timber. Today, only plastic and garbage flow in the river. This decline shows how our rivers and livelihoods have been neglected.”
As Chief Minister Omar Abdullah announced immediate relief for flood victims and sanctioned crores for rehabilitation in Jammu, the houseboat owners here said that without concrete rehabilitation measures, Kashmir risks losing a centuries-old tradition—(KNO)