Peddling in Rawal Dam: Row boats get another short lease on life

Licences of boat owners were withdrawn following an SC directive over water pollution issue.

ISLAMABAD:

Row boats on the Rawal Lake got another short lease on life on Saturday.

At the second hearing of a petition filed by boat owners, a sessions’ court extended a previous stay order till March 26 against the closure of the boating jetty at the Lake View Park.

The owners of around 50 row boats went to the court on March 6 to stop the Capital Development Authority (CDA), which manages the park, from putting up a steel fence to close the boating area.

A sessions magistrate had granted a stay order against the fence till March 16.

The fence would have effectively shut down the Rawal Lake boating business, since weekend visitors at the Lake View Park constitute the majority of people who use these boats for leisure.

The boats, which are not equipped with any safety equipment such as life jackets, have continued operations even though the CDA withdrew licenses for all boats at the lake in 2o1o.

The licences were withdrawn following a Supreme Court directive regarding the spread of water pollution in the lake due to boating practices.

Although the apex court had only ordered a ban on motorboats and water scooters, the CDA overzealously scratched all boating operations and the boat inspection mechanism.

But the civic agency failed to enforce an effective and total ban on boating because of opposition from local boat owners.

The CDA parks directorate sprang to action against the unlicensed and unsafe boats again this month after photos of row and paddle boats operating at the Rawal Lake appeared in the press.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 17^th, 2013.