like many public-spirited dreams conceived with zeal floundering in the wilderness due to administrative apathy, the mission of the district panchayat to launch commercial boat service in Tehri dam by way of providing the local youth with means of livelihood has not gone beyond giving authority letters to the interested. Notably, the district panchayat had given the authority letters to 97 people till January 5. However, even after one and a half months have passed, not a single boat had started operating in the lake.
The locals are interested to start boating in the lake, but the jetty and the road near the lake not having been built so far is dampening their enthusiasm. The district panchayat had made the local youths dream big on boating in the 42-km long lake becoming a good avenue of self-employment. But these dreams have remained stuck in the papers so far with the panchayat taking no initiative to take things to fruition.
The tenders were invited for boating in November last in which 105 people had applied for licence. Of these the district panchayat had given the authority letters to 97 applicants. But so far not even a single boat has launched commercial operations in the lake. The authority letter had put a condition that before taking the boat out in the lake, the operators would have to submit a survey report following which licences would be issued.
Due to want of local surveyors, the authority letter holders are not keen on buying the boats. Asked to comment on the continuing impasse on the dream remaining confined to papers, the district panchayat chief officer Rajivnath Tripathy said that want of surveyors had kept things stalled so long. But understanding the problem, they have made arrangements for a surveyor to be engaged on contract. The fees of the surveyor would be borne by the licence holders, he added.