Kashmir Sees Tourist Boom, But Houseboats Struggle To Stay Afloat
NDTV
The number of houseboats in four key waterbodies of the Union Territory has more than halved in the past three decades.
Jammu and Kashmir is expected to see a record number of tourist arrivals this year but one of its standout attractions, the houseboat, is struggling to stay afloat. The number of houseboats in four key waterbodies in the Union Territory has more than halved in the past three decades, with many sinking, some others catching fire and several others just not being maintained. Strict pollution and sewage laws are also preventing the construction of new boats and major repairs on existing ones.
According to the Kashmir Houseboat Owners Association, the number of houseboats on the iconic Dal Lake, Nageen Lake, Chinar Bagh and Jhelum River has come down to just 750. The number was 2,000 in 1990, around the time that militancy reared its ugly head in the erstwhile state.
For tourists, a visit to Kashmir is incomplete without at least a night's stay in a houseboat and this was echoed by a couple from Gujarat, who were staying in one such boat in Dal Lake with their children.
However, Salman who got married on Friday night will miss his own wedding reception, scheduled for November 26 in Meerut, due to the district ban imposed just a day before the 'nikah' (wedding).
Maharashtra Election Results 2024: The rebel faction of Eknath Shinde, which has pitched the electoral battle as an acid test of "who is the real Shiv Sena" has lost no time to announce it as an ideological victory.
Meanwhile, as the dust settles after the counting of votes, the identity of the victor of the 2024 Maharashtra Assembly election is settled, and the focus now will be on the next Chief Minister.
The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha leader was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in January and released on bail in June.
Jharkhand Elections Results 2024: JMM chief Hemant Soren and his wife Kalpana are parents to two boys. Sharing a picture of his two sons, he wrote, "My strength."
Overall, the BJP has not only retained the three seats it won in 2022 but also flipped two others - Kundarki and Katehari - while also picking up a sixth from allies NISHAD Party.
Fahad Ahmed, a candidate of the Sharad Pawar-led NCP faction, is currently trailing Sana Malik, nominee of Ajit Pawar's NCP, by over 3,000 votes and the counting is nearing completion.
The BJP-led Mahayuti alliance, which includes the Shinde Sena and Ajit Pawar's NCP, is en route to a thumping win in the 2024 Maharashtra Assembly election, thanks to its two smaller allies.
The Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) leader said the results are not acceptable to his party and the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi coalition.
The Adani Group said that none of its 11 public companies are implicated or accused of any wrongdoing.
The MVA had only been given a (very) slim chance of upsetting the in-power BJP-led alliance's applecart in this election; only one of 11 exit polls studied by NDTV believed it can win.