SRINAGAR: All three Youth Hostels in Jammu and Kashmir are currently non-functional, the Union Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports informed the Rajya Sabha on Thursday.
In a written reply to an unstarred question by MP Neeraj Shekhar, Union Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports Mansukh Mandaviya said the Youth Hostels located at Srinagar, Patnitop in Udhampur district and Nagrota in Jammu district are not operational.
The Ministry stated that 85 Youth Hostels have been established across the country, with varying operational status. It also informed the House that the construction of a new Youth Hostel at Kota in Rajasthan was completed in February this year, while 22 Youth Hostels have received financial assistance for repair, renovation and upgradation since 2021-22.
However, no Youth Hostel in Jammu and Kashmir figures in the list of hostels that received funds for repair, renovation or upgradation during the last five years and the current financial year.
The Ministry further said that, according to a recent survey, functional Youth Hostels across the country recorded an average occupancy of more than 53 per cent over the last three years and the current year. During the same period, over 3,500 youth programmes were organised at these facilities.
