The State government is contemplating allowing houseboat operations adhering to COVID-19 protocols.
Sources with the Tourism Department said that they hoped the vessels would be able to ply again on backwaters from October. “We cannot allow houseboats to operate like in the pre-COVID-19 times. A whole set of measures and protocols need to be in place before allowing operations. We have sought the guidance of the Health Department who will draw up protocols. It is up for the government to take a final decision on restarting houseboat operations,” said a Tourism Department official.
Tourism Minister Kadakampally Surendran said a decision on the matter would be taken in two days.
The houseboat sector, one of the worst-hit businesses owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, has been urging the government to grant permission to restart operations. The industry was among the first to come to a grinding halt after the outbreak started to sweep the world earlier this year. More than six months after, houseboats remain anchored awaiting a nod from the government to resume operations.
“Backwater tourism is one of the mainstays of the tourism sector in the State. However, the pandemic has tormented the lives of people attached to the sector. Although the government has allowed public transport, functioning of shopping malls and apparel stores, among other sectors, it is yet to give relaxations to houseboats, shikaras, and motorised boats,” said Kevin Rozario, general secretary, All Kerala Houseboat Owners and Operators Samiti.
1,500 houseboats
There are around 1,500 houseboats in the State, a majority of them in Alappuzha. Thousands of people are directly attached to the sector and many thousands indirectly. Following the outbreak, a large number of them have lost jobs. While some have migrated to new pastures, others took up odd jobs to make ends meet.
According to houseboat owners, the losses suffered owing to the pandemic run into crores. “It is very important to resume houseboat operations for the survival of the industry. To restart, we will have to spend huge amounts of money on maintenance of the boats that remain defunct for the past several months,” said Vinod V., president, All Kerala Houseboat Owners Association.
Mr. Vinod said that even if the government allowed houseboat operations, they were not expecting normality in the sector anytime soon. “Lack of flight operations will keep the foreign tourists away while the mandatory 14-day quarantine will discourage people from other States to travel here,” he said.
