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| Oops! Amid poor visibility in frozen Dal lake, Tourism Deptt hosts water sports | | Participants, invitees shiver in cold | | Early Times Report
srinagar, Dec 10: At a time when most parts of the word famous Dal Lake have frozen and Srinagar shiverinh at minus 4.5 degree Celsius, the Tourism department on Saturday held "water sports festival" in the waterbody here drawing flak from participants and invitees, alike.
Many of the participants were seen shivering in cold, sneezing and coughing while same looked true for many of the invitees, who said it was an "odd hour" function held to misguide the "people in general".
Official sources said the Tourism department is showing an expenditure of over Rs 10 lakhs on the "5th National Canoe, Polo and Dragon Boat Championship", which was flagged off by the Chief Minister Mehboba Mufti.
Some of the sportsmen present at the occasion took serious note of "creating a joke of the prestigious water sports by calling for the event at awkward time." "Visibility was rarely 10 meters and we were freezing in boats, while officials added insult to our injury by asking us to come closer to the polo ball for a picture, as if we were invited for a photo session," one the participants told Early Times, asking not to be named.
Sources said this morning the department had to make "additional expenditure out of contingency funds only to break the ice on the surface of the Dal lake to make way for the guests to reach the Char Chinari Island as the waters had almost frozen." Sources said dozens of Shikaras were hired for the job.
"This is ridiculous that you hold boating activities in lake which has frozen while visibility was poorest. This is sheer misuse of public money," said sources.
It is for the first time in the history of Kashmir that the government decided to hold a water sports activity during extreme cold when condition were not feasible for the activity.
"During winters, the only sporting activity which is viable for Kashmir is Skiing in Gulmarg where you have enough resources to beat the cold. Extreme winter is just not the right time for holding water sports activities except that you risked the lives of the participants and invitees," said a prominent adventure sports lover in Kashmir. "Have you ever seen cricket match being played in extreme rainfall, today's event was just like that," he explained.
Sources said despite advisory from experts against hosting of this event in extreme cold, the Tourism department went ahead with the festival.
When contacted a Tourism official downplayed the matter. "This event was done for the promotion of Tourism in Kashmir," he said. When told that holding waters sports in freezing waters "sounded odd", he said "Well that is a separate issue."
"Actually we wanted to do something different, moreover funds meant for the event would lapse if it was not held this time, so we decided to go ahead with the plan," he said. |
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