Srinagar, June 15: If you are planning a holiday in Kashmir this summer, make arrangements at least a week ahead of the scheduled arrival here as hotels and house-boats in the paradise on earth are hard to get by these days. Hotels, lining the boulevard road along the banks of world famous Dal lake, are running at cent per cent occupancy with a strong influx of tourists - mostly domestic - probably buoyed by a significant change in security scenario.

"I have a friend coming over from Delhi and he had requested me to make arrangements for his stay. But to my utter surprise, there is not a single room available in the hotels along the Dal lake,” said Tahir Hussain, a local resident.
Hussain said the dozen odd hotels he checked had no rooms as there was a heavy inflow of tourists from all over the country.
Even the house-boats are running at near capacity these days. Luckily, I managed to find a room in a house-boat for my friend, he added.
With the increase in demand, the hoteliers and house-boat owners have also decided to make hay while the sun shines. The accommodation charges have nearly doubled with the onset of tourist season.
The rate for a standard room at a two and three star hotel along the Dal lake is in the range of Rs 1,000 to Rs 1,500 as against the Rs 600 to Rs 900 charged last year.
Bureau Report