ISLAMABAD: In order to facilitate young people, particularly students, visiting Islamabad for a brief period, the Capital Development Authority (CDA) has decided to build two youth hostels – one each for males and females – in the capital which would provide subsidised housing.

The decision was taken by the chairman of the civic body, Noorul Amin Mengal, during a meeting attended by the chiefs of the planning and engineering wings of the CDA.

Member Engineering Syed Munawar Shah told Dawn that the plan to build these hostels has been approved in principle and the construction work will kick off soon.

Currently, the planning wing has been looking for suitable sites to build these facilities. “Once we get details of the approved sites, we will move towards PC-I of the project and tendering,” he added.

Facilities to provide subsidised accommodation to young men, women visiting capital

It is relevant to note here the CDA – the custodian of Islamabad’s land bank – owns some hostels for its employees, but there is no such facility for youth, mainly students and young professionals, who visit Islamabad for brief trips.

Some of the ministries do have accommodation facilities of their own, but it is difficult to get a room there because of the space shortage.

A CDA official said the plan to construct youth hostels transpired after a young man – hailing from a remote part of Punjab – visited the office of the civic agency and met the chairman.

He apprised the CDA chairman that he had been in Islamabad for an exam to be held within two weeks, but he was unable to find suitable lodgings in the city, particularly owing to the cost.

Upon his request, Mr Mengal asked his staffers what could be done for the youth.

He was told that the CDA does own hostels but these are for its own employees, as per the official, who added that each year, a large number people contact the CDA looking for accommodation.

Though the youth was turned back, the CDA chairman decided to construct facilities for the youth and directed the officials concerned to start working on the plan, according to the official.

Meanwhile, sources in the planning wing said that a few sites for the hostel have been identified, which will be shared with the chairman for his approval in a few weeks.

In Islamabad, one of the major issues students face is the lack of hostels. Not only private universities but the government-owned universities do not have their own accommodation facilities, forcing students to opt for costly private hostels.

It must be mentioned here that in the past, Islamabad did have such a facility, known as ‘Aam Sarya Inn’ in G-7. It was built in the 80s to accommodate people visiting the federal capital for a short stay.

Eventually, the CDA lost interest in the building and it was shut down. Some years ago, it was handed over to NAB, but the accountability watchdog also abandoned the single-storey building.

During the tenure of PTI, the government started using this building for its welfare programme, Ehsaas. A CDA official, while commenting on this building, said the civic agency could build a state-of-the-art hostel on this property.

Published in Dawn, February 6th, 2023