No heritage expedition in J&K this year

Vikas Sharma

Tribune News Service

Jammu, December 15

The prevailing situation in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir post the revocation of Article 370 by the Centre has adversely affected trekking expeditions being conducted by the Youth Hostels Association of India (YHAI), J&K Branch. For the first time in 13 years since the launch of the National Heritage Trek Expedition in 2006, this year’s expedition did not take place.

Sources said the process of online registration for both YHAI members and others for the trek suffered a setback in August this year when the Government of India issued an advisory for people across the country citing security reasons. They said it had infused a sense of fear among those who wanted to go for trek but could not register themselves. The snapping of Internet services in the UT post August 5 worsened the situation.

“Only two entries were received by the YHAI for the trek and both were from Gujarat. These entries were received from offline mode because of suspended Internet services,” said Taran Singh, general secretary, YHAI J&K Branch.

“The members are still hesitant to register themselves and not ready to take any chances. Despite the fact that the Jammu region is peaceful and the trekking event is to be held in the province, there is lukewarm response. Earlier, the National Heritage Trek Expedition was conducted every year in May but from 2018-19, we are conducting it in October-November. There are 30 members per batch for the expedition and the usual strength in such treks is 800-1,000 or sometimes more than that,” he added.

The Youth Hostels Association of India is an associate member of Hostelling International (Welwyn Garden City, United Kingdom), having a network of more than 45,000 youth hostels across 90 countries and a membership count of more than 4.5 million people. It currently has more than 70 youth hostels in India. These hostels are spread across 23 states/union territories in India. Its mission is to enable and promote travel, tourism, adventure spirit, national integration and education besides organising adventure and educational events.