The District Administration Office, Kaski, has issued a 15-point directive to regulate water tourism activities and make them safer on Phewa Lake and other lakes in Pokhara, a city where boating and water sports form a central part of the local tourism economy. The directive was issued by Assistant Chief District Officer Ramesh Gharti through a public notice. It places a clear obligation on operators, requiring that all boats, kayaks and surfing boats be registered with the concerned authorities before they are allowed to operate. At the same time, the office has made a direct appeal to the public, urging people not to take part in any water-based activity without wearing a life jacket.

Mandatory registration for all watercraft

The most consequential provision of the new directive is the registration requirement. Under the notice, no boat, kayak or surfing boat may be operated on Phewa Lake or the other lakes of the area until it has been registered with the concerned authorities. The measure applies across the full range of watercraft used in the local tourism trade, covering:

  • Boats
  • Kayaks
  • Surfing boats

By making registration a precondition for operation, the administration is effectively drawing a line between vessels recognized by the authorities and those that are not. For tourism entrepreneurs running water-based businesses, the message is that informal, unregistered operations are no longer an acceptable way of doing business on the lakes. For the administration itself, a registered fleet provides a clearer picture of who is operating what on the water, which is a basic precondition for enforcing any safety standard at all.

The notice, issued under the name of Assistant Chief District Officer Ramesh Gharti, frames these measures as part of a broader effort to organize and regulate water tourism rather than simply restrict it. Taken together, the 15 points are intended to bring order to a sector that has grown quickly alongside Pokhara's wider tourism economy.

A public appeal on life jackets

Alongside the requirements directed at operators, the District Administration Office has spoken directly to the public. In the notice, it urged people not to take part in water tourism activities such as boating, kayaking or surfing without putting on a life jacket.

The appeal is significant because it addresses the visitors themselves rather than only the businesses serving them. Life jackets are the most basic piece of safety equipment for any activity on the water, and the administration's decision to highlight them in a public notice underscores that safety on the lakes cannot be secured through the regulation of operators alone. It also places a share of responsibility on individual tourists, local excursion groups and families who take to the water for recreation.

For the reading public, the directive from the Kaski administration can be summarized in simple terms: if you are getting onto a boat, a kayak or a surfing boat in Pokhara, the vessel should be registered, and you should be wearing a life jacket before the activity begins.

Pokhara's lakes under administrative oversight

The directive is the latest example of the District Administration Office, Kaski, stepping in to manage the pressures that come with Pokhara's popularity as a destination. The city's lakes, above all Phewa Lake, are among its defining attractions, and water-based activities have long been a staple of the experience for domestic and international visitors alike. That popularity, however, also concentrates risk, with large numbers of people participating in activities on open water run by a wide range of operators of varying scale and preparedness.

It is this combination, a thriving tourism sector operating on open water, that the 15-point directive is designed to address. Rather than issuing a piecemeal response, the administration has consolidated its expectations into a single notice covering registration, operation and the conduct of participants. The fact that the directive has been issued through the office of the Assistant Chief District Officer also signals that compliance is a matter of administrative instruction, not merely a recommendation from within the tourism industry.

Key points from the directive

For operators, visitors and observers following the story, the essential points from the notice issued by the District Administration Office, Kaski, are as follows:

  • A 15-point directive has been issued to regulate and make safe water tourism activities on Phewa Lake and other lakes in Pokhara
  • All boats, kayaks and surfing boats must be registered with the concerned authorities before they can operate
  • The public has been urged not to take part in water tourism activities without wearing a life jacket
  • The notice was issued by Assistant Chief District Officer Ramesh Gharti

The directive was reported locally by RatoPati and Pradesh Khabar, both of which highlighted the administration's call for caution in the tourism sector.

For now, the message from Kaski's district administration is twofold. Operators on Phewa Lake and the area's other lakes are expected to complete registration before continuing to serve tourists, while members of the public are being reminded that their own safety on the water begins with a life jacket. How consistently the directive is enforced, and how quickly operators bring unregistered watercraft into the formal system, will determine how effective the 15 points prove to be in practice.