Panel wants youth hostels to be freed from encroachments

BOX: Poor maintenance major concern

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* Sources said in 2017, a team of the Youth Hostels Association of India, J&K Chapter, had visited Youth Hostel, Nagrota, Youth Hostel, Patnitop, and Youth Hostel in Srinagar following alleged reports of poor maintenance and catering

* During the visit, the team found that the buildings were in good shape but the major concern was their poor maintenance and catering services

BOX: About YHAI

The Youth Hostels Association of India (YHAI) has a network of more than 95 youth hostels in the country starting from Leh in Ladakh to the Andaman and Nicobar islands. It includes both partnered accommodations under the Licensee Youth Hostels Scheme and the hostels under the direct administration of the YHAI. The YHAI mission is to enable and promote travel, tourism, adventure spirit, national integration and education and health by providing hostels of good standards to millions of youth of limited means during their travel, besides organising adventure and educational events

Vikas Sharma

Tribune News Service

Jammu, March 16

A parliamentary committee has taken serious note of the encroachment of youth hostels, which are being used for various purposes by the government, in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.

The committee observed that on the one hand, the government denied affordable accommodation to youth and on the other hand, the investment made therein was not only wasted but it also defeated the purpose for which the youth hostels were set up.

Sources said in 2017, a team of the Youth Hostels Association of India (YHAI), J&K Chapter, had visited the three youth hostels in J&K following alleged reports of poor maintenance and catering. The hostels visited by the team included Youth Hostel, Nagrota, Youth Hostel, Patnitop, and Youth Hostel in Srinagar.

During its visit to the hostels, the YHAI team found that the buildings were in good shape but the major concern was their poor maintenance and catering services.

Sources further said the committee was unhappy that the hostels were encroached upon by the state government. It recommended that the department should take up the issue regarding the removal of encroachments at the highest level.

The Secretary, Department of Youth Affairs, had said regular correspondence was being made with the government to get the encroachments removed from the youth hostels.

General secretary, YHAI, J&K Chapter, Taran Singh, who was one of the members of the visiting team, said: “We immediately submitted the report to the Union Sports Ministry after visiting the three youth hostels but there has been no response so far.”