The local administration took the initiative to make life jackets mandatory after cases of boat capsize went up in the recent years. Nara Bahadur Shrestha of Fewa Boat Entrepreneurs´ Association said the new measures have been taken with the help of Nepal Tourism Board (NTB).
NTB has given 20 life jackets in the first stage while the association itself has added 10. Shrestha said despite the limited number of jackets, the boatmen are sharing them to ensure that everyone wore one, as not all the boats are operated at a particular time. The entrepreneurs charge Rs 25 per hour for a jacket while Rs 50 is sufficient to hire it for a full day. “We plan to buy more jackets with the money collected from hiring it,” Shrestha said.
He said four meters of rope and a tube have been kept in the boat to rescue passengers if they fall off the boat as many deaths have occurred in the past due to unavailability of ropes.
Life jacket is, however, not compulsory for the boatmen themselves. “It is also not mandatory for passengers while going to the temple from Barahi Ghat. But it is compulsory if someone wants to rent it and row himself,” Shrestha said.
Many tourists hire boats on rent for hours and accidents occur when they go for swimming or jump in the boat disturbing its balance. Police have also urged the entrepreneurs not to give boats on rent to single person as incidents of suicide have also increased. There have also been cases of couples committing suicide. “We have stopped giving boats to single persons and suscipious couples without boatmen,” Shrestha revealed.
Police records show around a dozen persons have died in the lake this year alone and majority of the victims are from outside Pokhara. Police also claim many die when swimming while there has also been increasing cases of suicides.
“We have asked them not to provide boats to suspicious persons and asked to keep tubes and ropes to facilitate rescue as some have died while trying to pull drowned friends with hands,” DSP Tulsi Adhikari said.
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