Geo-tagging of houseboats, hotels starts in a bid to save Srinagar’s Dal Lake

The process of geo-tagging hotels and houseboats on Kashmir’s Dal Lake has begun in a bid to save the world-famous lake. The concerned authorities have started the initiative to save the lake from any further perforation.

The move has been made after the High Court’s direction on the same; following that, the Tourism Department has joined hands with the Department of Ecology, Environment and Remote Sensing. The directive came in the year 2019, and has led to the process of geo-tagging structures that fall in a 200 m periphery of the lake.
The official figures by J&K Tourism Department peg the number of the geo-tagged structures at 900 for now. Reportedly, the lake has been deteriorating with sewage and other waste that gets dumped into its water from the houseboats, hotels, shops and other structures in the vicinity.

A senior official from the tourism department shed light on the move, stating that, “This data consists of latitude and longitude coordinates. The coordinates could then be used to identify the geo-tagged item and monitor them through satellites. Mapping of structures is aimed to regulate the houseboat industry, gauge their carrying capacity, and impact of sewage disposal from various structures on Dal waters.”
Other than keeping a tab on the number of structures on the water body, the process of geo-tagging will also make it easier for tourists to spot the houseboats and other such structures, since the move will lead to GPS tracking as well.