Soz urges J&K admin to rescue Kashmir houseboat owners from penury

Former union minister and Congress leader prof Saifuddin Soz on Thursday wrote to Jammu and Kashmir Governor Manoj Sinha, urging him to provide a special financial package to Kashmir’s houseboat industry that has been battered by continuous curfews and lockdowns over the last two years.

“I feel extremely sad that Kashmir’s traditional houseboat industry is facing extremely bad conditions. The houseboat owners have got reduced to very bad economic conditions due to falling numbers of domestic and foreign tourists. The Pandemic has further deepened their misery,” Soz said on Thursday.

“I have approached the J&K’s Lt. Governor Shri Manoj Sinha through a letter today, requesting him to please take notice of this now-dilapidated industry. I have urged the Lt. Governor to sanction a package for this industry with a view to provide aid for reconstruction of the houseboats and financial help to houseboat owners,” he added.

The industry has suffered heavily due to Covid-19 pandemic and reduction in the number of domestic and foreign visitors.

Prof Soz has also requested Lt. Governor Manoj Sinha to meet the houseboat owners in person to listen to their grievances and understand their plight.