Kashmir: You must have taken a shikara ride in the world-famous Dal Lake of Kashmir during the day but now you can experience the silence and cold breezes of this lake during the night in twinkling illuminated boats.
Jammu and Kashmir Tourism department has added another feather in the beauty of Dal Lake to boost the nightlife and give some extra hours of enjoyment to the tourist and locals.
First time ever in the history of Kashmir the shikaras floating in Dal Lake have been illuminated with solar led lights. This is another step to give a boost to the Jammu Kashmir Tourism industry which is the backbone of the economy of Jammu and Kashmir.
(Illuminated shikaras on Dal Lake)
It’s now almost three decades that there is no nightlife in Kashmir one has nothing to do as the sun sets and mostly it affects tourists who have no other choice than to go back to hotels or places where they are staying. But now they can have extra hours of enjoyment in Dal Lake as the department of tourism of Kashmir has taken this innovative step.
As the sun sets the view of this lake changes and everywhere its twinkling lights of shikara are surrounded by the snow-clad mountains faring tourists in this lake.
This is to give something different to a tourist who visits Kashmir and besides it will boost the nightlife in Kashmir which is dead for decades.
Director tourism Kashmir Dr.G.N.I said, “When people anywhere in the world think of visiting Kashmir the first thought that comes to their mind is shikaras and houseboats, it’s our identity our novelty and we have to keep it intact with new innovative ideas, and this step is in that way.”
He added, “A tourist will have now few more hours of enjoyment mostly when they return back from different hill stations after sight-seeing in the evening to Srinagar and have nothing to do and feel bored. But now they can relax in boats and then go back to their hotels.
He said they plan on illuminating more shikaras as the initial response is good. “Initially we have illuminated 80 boats on trial bases, but the response is good, tourists and even locals are enjoying it and we are planning to illuminate more shikaras soon.”
A freelance senior Photographer who has been covering Kashmir beauty for decades, Mukhtar said, “It’s a new change definitely and people who come to Kashmir will have few more hours engagement as we have no nightlife but now there is something to do to cheer it’s a good step we too will capture it and try to send this message across the globe so that people outside will come to know that Kashmir nights are not dull now.”
Not only it’s tourists who will feel good about it, it will attract the locals and by day passing as the summer will knock, the demand for night shikara rides will also go up. Shikara people who had always remained the first hosts of tourist in Kashmir too appreciate the step and say that it was our demand to the department for long.
Wali Mohammad, Shikara association president, said, “It’s a good step. We have been demanding this for long now they (Tourism department) have illuminated 80 shikaras in the first phase but more are in the pipeline. The target is around thousand shikaras which will be illuminated.”
Kashmir’s economy is almost 60% dependent on tourism industry and this industry has seen many ups and downs in the last three decades. It has been worst hit by the uncertainty and bad security situation of Kashmir, but from last one decade as things changed in Kashmir, the flow of tourist also increased but Covid-19 pandemic made things miserable again from last two years. However, this year Kashmir had witnessed a decade-high number of tourist footfall. Authorities and tourist players are coming up with new ideas to give a boost to this industry.
This year the spring season celebration is on cards and the department is thinking not to be dependent only on tulip bloom but celebrate many other traditional flowers bloom of Kashmir to extend the spring season.
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