A parliamentary committee has recommended formulation of a rehabilitation policy for Kashmir valley’s houseboat owners. The famed Kashmir houseboats are a major attraction for tourists.
“The committee recommends that a rehabilitation policy may also be formulated for those houseboat owners who want to cease their houseboat business,” the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home Affairs said in a report.
“To oversee the recruitment and to have a single nodal point in the government, an Accelerated Recruitment Committee has been constituted to identify vacancies for being filled up on immediate basis and finalising the procedure to be followed at all levels so that the principles of transparency and inclusiveness are maintained and the recruitment process is concluded on a fast-track basis,” the report added.
The Jammu and Kashmir government had recently organised a two-day-long houseboat festival.
Besides highlighting the famed houseboats of Kashmir, the main aim of the festival was to pass a message that Kashmir is an all-season tourist destination.
“There was a demand from the houseboat owners that we have to make winters vibrant in Kashmir for the tourists. Winters don’t have to be dull and we have to tell the world that Kashmir is an all-season destination,” an official had said during the festival.
