How Safe Is River Rafting in Kashmir?

Following the capsizing of tourist boats while rafting in Pahalgam twice this month, the tourist department of Kashmir has ordered the suspension of rafting related activities at all tourist destinations in the region. The order issued by the Directorate of Tourism, Kashmir read, “In the interest of administration and safety of tourist destinations, it is hereby ordered that all the Rafting related activities at all tourist destinations, particularly at Pahalgam and Sonmarg shall remain suspended till a proper mechanism/ technical guidance is put in place at all such locations.” Recently, one incident of boat capsizing resulted in 3 deaths including a tourist guide Rouf Ahmed Dar, 31, who lost his life while saving the lives of five tourists at the Lidder River in Phalgham on June 1.

Rafting in Kashmir

On June 18, two people were killed and eight others injured after a boat overturned in the water in Pahalgam. The incident took place in the same Lidder River where the tourist guide was killed. Of those killed, one was a tourist and another one was a tourist department employee. The victims were part of a three-day rafting championship being held as a tribute to the tourist guide Dar.

In yet another incident, two women were rescued as their raft overturned in the water in Wular Lake, on June 19, near north Kashmir’s Bandipora district. As per the reports, the mother-daughter duo were drowning as their boat capsized in the water but they were rescued. The series of fatal incidents during rafting expeditions have raised questions on the safety guidelines followed in such camps.

Requisite Measures Not Followed

River rafting is included in the itinerary of almost all tourists who visit Kashmir. But the recent incidents have raised the question of how safe is rafting in Kashmir. Speaking with NewsClick, a resident from Pahalgam, requesting anonymity said, “We have grown seeing these rafting expeditions. First, there is no monitoring. The Lidder river is very dangerous. Tourism department has to take charge of the monitoring but they tend to have a very casual approach towards it. The recent incidents where two people were killed was a failure on the part of the authorities. How can they allow rafting when the visibility is low and weather pattern is changing? No body should be allowed to go rafting without permission. Second, there is no proper scrutiny of trained professional, that is, whether they can handle the equipment. Third, no safety measures are followed. Recently, in a notice the tourism department had said that operators were illegally rafting without permission. How can they allow this to happen?”

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Last month, a notice was issued saying that, “10 rafting agencies including Dar Camping and Adventure were functioning without informing the office of the Assistant Director Pahalgam.”  The notice read, “Whereas you have been found operating commercial rafting without informing this office. You are required to explain your position in writing as to why operation of commercial rafting was started without informing this office within 3 days.”

The notice had brought to the limelight the fact that the “rafting agencies had not submitted their fresh insurance copy for the year 2019-20, violating the guidelines”. Reportedly, the rafting agency boat which was capsized in Lidder river, was one among the several rafting agencies operating in Pahalgam without permission.

Speaking to NewsClick, Assistant Director of Tourism Department, Pahalgam, Zahida Parveen said, “Risks are inherent in adventure. There are car accidents, does that mean we should stop vehicles. It was an accident and accidents happen. Why are you journalists making a mountain out of the mill.”

Talking about the recent episode, where two people who had participated in the three-day championship were killed, Parveen said, “It was on the second day of the event when this incident occurred. We had declared that the event is over for the day and majority of the participants were heading towards their hotel, when these people started rafting. Despite telling them that the event is over they did not listen to us. There were rescue boats but there was a reason that we had declared the rafting time is over.”

The Lidder river in Pahalgam is very popular for river rafting. As per the Pahalgam tourism department, currently around 500-700 tourists visit on a daily basis of which 200-300 are interested in river rafting.