Kashmir all set to host Amarnath Yatra amid unprecedented security

Srinagar: Kashmir is all set to host the first annual Amarnath Yatra after a gap of two years.

The authorities have made unprecedented security arrangements and deployed over 50,000 personnel to ensure a peaceful pilgrimage.

The number of security forces personnel deployed on the ground for the smooth conduct of the Yatra is two or three times more than the previous years, senior officials said.

Central armed police force, army and J&K Police personnel have been deployed to secure the twin routes along the Jammu-Pahalgam-Amarnath and Jammu-Baltal-Amarnath routes.

The 43-day-long pilgrimage to the cave shrine nestled in the Himalayas at an altitude of 13,000 feet is scheduled to start from Kashmir on June 30 from the twin routes of Pahalgam in Anantnag and Baltal in Ganderbal.

The Amarnath Yatra was cut short in August 2019 following the abrogation of J&K's special status. It was put on hold for the next two years due to the Covid pandemic.

A day ahead of the Yatra, both Baltal and Nunwan base camps are buzzing with activities. It is from here that the devotees will embark on a journey to the cave shrine on Thursday.

In Srinagar and other districts, hundreds of new security bunkers have sprung along the highways to ensure an incident-free Yatra. Apart from the men on the ground who would be part of the three tier security arrangements, technology is being used extensively to keep round the clock surveillance of the Yatra.

“This year, we have the largest ever security arrangement for the Yatra,” said a senior security officer in Kashmir. “Besides large deployment of forces on the ground, our focus this time is also more on technical surveillance. In case of an exigency, it reduces our response time”.

He said CCTV, drone surveillance and Radio Frequency Identification chips are part of the security arrangements.

“Sticky bombs and drone attacks as new challenges to this year’s yatra,” the security officer said, adding anti-drones system has been installed on the Yatra routes.

Last week, a top Army officer in Kashmir had said that there was an increased threat perception to the Amarnath yatra.

“We generally receive inputs about terrorists targeting the yatra every year, but, this year, there are more serious such inputs,” he had said.

The senior security and intelligence officials would be meeting on a daily basis to analyze the threats to Yatra and arrangements for the same. (UNI)