In the wake of a spate of accidents involving houseboats, Kerala Tourism will step in to regulate the craft operating in backwaters, check environmental pollution, and ensure service standards, safety and security of holidayers.
The move comes in the wake of the thinking among tourism planners that the Tourism Department should have a major say in houseboat operations. At present, the licence and fitness of the houseboats are certified by the Department of Ports and the pollution aspects are taken care of by the Kerala State Pollution Control Board. Yet it is the Tourism Department that gets all the brickbat from holidayers for any mishaps or accidents.
The department is now contemplating a committee with members from the Department of Ports, Fire and Rescue Services, Tourism police, and Kerala Tourism with legal backing to carry out inspection of the houseboats to ensure that the operators adhere to the safety and security standards, provide the prescribed service, and follow the rules notified.
The department wants to ensure that all houseboats have valid licence, fitness, insurance, including third party one, and a system for taking legal action against those flouting rules. Valid licence will be made mandatory for technical staff such as boat drivers, shrank and laskar. Cook and hospitality staff deployed in houseboats will be provided adequate training.
Police clearance certificate for all staff, health card for those handling food, and food safety licence and registration for all houseboats have been mooted.
Uniform is being planned for the personnel and so is a five-day annual training for cooks and hospitality staff. Training by Fire and Rescue Services for all personnel in the houseboats has also been suggested.
Ban on smoking
Banning of smoking and drinking, linking of the GPS installed in the houseboat to the police control room, and safety and security guidelines for the holidayers have also been suggested.
Meanwhile, Tourism Minister Kadakampally Surendran told the Assembly on Tuesday that the government is considering setting up a regulatory authority to control the houseboats operating in the State. “Stringent regulations are needed to control houseboat operations. There is a proposal before the government to constitute a regulatory authority for the purpose. We are mulling legislation in this connection at least in the next Assembly session,” he said.
