6 boats confiscated for violating Rawal Lake rules

city reporter
Islamabad: The local administration has confiscated six boats from Rawal Lake that were being used for commercial purposes without observing the safety measures for the visitors.
According to the details, the civic agency and the local administration showed their dissatisfaction over the boat service at Rawal Lake because the boat operators were completely ignoring their directives and putting the lives of the visitors at risk. The relevant officials immediately took action and confiscated six boats for violation of rules. Now no one will be allowed to operate boat service unless all safety measures are observed in letter and spirit.
The boat operators regardless of their experience have to take a boating course and become familiar with the rules. They must be familiar with all aspects of the boat’s handling, operations and general boating safety measures. In 2010, the Supreme Court had ordered a ban on motorboats and water scooters in the Rawal Lake. Boats were operating at the lake without any safety precautions. The park did not have any lifeguards and the boats were not equipped with life jackets. In fact, even a passenger capacity limit had not been imposed on the boats.
Apart from it diesel emissions, leaked oil and the water-churning action of the motorized boats all threatened the quality of the lake’s drinking water. Boating safety starts with everyone on board wearing properly fitted life jackets according to weight and size limits.
An official has informed that “They had a mechanism for boat inspection, but that was also scratched after the 2010 Supreme Court verdict. The park’s unarmed security guards cannot take on the local boatmen, so we will have police cover to enforce the ban on boat service.”