Govt to introduce battery operated boats in Dal Lake, Jehlum river

Srinagar, Nov 15: Jammu and Kashmir Government is all set to introduce battery powered boats in Dal Lake and Jehlum as an
alternative mode of public transport, a media report said.

Quoting an official, a media report said that the process of approving boat samples is in its final stage and two types of boats — eight-seaters and 20-seaters — will cruise in the water bodies.

He added that thirty-two boats will serve the lake and river, criss-crossing even the old city, rich with its built heritage, and the shrines dotting the riverfront.

Reports said that official plan reveals that boats will use the traditional causeways to cover the five basins of the lake —the Nehru Park basin, the Nishat Bagh basin, the Hazratbal basin, the Nigeen basin, and the Barari Nambal basin.

Officials added that for the first time since the 1960s the Dal lake’s backwaters will be opened to visitors, especially the Dalgate-Rainawari-Hazratbal waterway.

Government has already made the water canal access to the Shalimar garden navigable so that travellers could use water way to reach Shalimar

Notably, public transport on the Dal lake is a part of the Rs 980 crore Srinagar Smart City project, which has already added pedestrian markets and walkways on the Jhelum riverfront to the landscape.