Part of floating restaurant submerges in Tehri Lake

Marina, a floating restaurant which had come to symbolise the BJP government's efforts to boost tourism in Uttarakhand, tilted mysteriously and partially sank in Tehri Lake Tuesday.

Half of the floating restaurant submerged in the lake, said SDM Ajay Vir Singh, also the additional chief executive officer of Tehri Lake Special Area Tourism Development Authority.

Efforts were under way to pull out the boat with prop of ropes, wires and power boats, he said.

The factors leading to the boat's submergence are being looked into, he said.

Marina, the first-of-its-kind boat to have been launched in the Tehri Lake to attract tourists had grabbed headlines last year when the state government held a cabinet meeting there as part of a move to publicise it as a new feature of tourism in Uttarakhand.

However, the boat was not in use for months since its grand opening last year as no one came forward to take the facility on lease and operate it for tourists as planned by the state government.