Amarnath Yatra To Witness Extraordinary Security This Year

Srinagar: Considering the recent Pahalgam terror attack which killed 26 civilians, mostly tourists, the security measures for the upcoming Amarnath yatra are being significantly intensified.

Apart from deploying thousands of personnel from the Jammu and Kashmir police, the CRPF, the BSF, the ITBP, and other Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) and columns of the Army across the yatra routes, the base camps of Pahalgam and Baltal will witness their increased presence. Also, all other halting places including yatri niwas will have manifold surveillance systems installed, the official sources here said.

Also, the J&K authorities have mandated stringent scrutiny for all service providers, including community kitchen or free langar operators, horse-handlers, porters and vendors. Not only will they have to obtain mandatory registration, each one of them will undergo beforehand police verification to ensure none of them has a criminal background or suspicious links.

Only those cleared through this process will be allowed to serve pilgrims and, as in the past, verified providers will receive unique identification tags for easy monitoring during the yatra.

As has been the practice in the past couple of years, CCTV cameras, drones, and satellite phones will be used for real-time monitoring along the pilgrimage routes, with aerial surveillance to detect suspicious activities.

While the National Highway (NH 44) from Qazigund (the gateway to the Kashmir Valley from the south) to Pahalgam and Baltal is under CCTV surveillance, with additional spotters to monitor for suspicious elements, only the vehicles fitted with Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) can drive the pilgrims to the base-camps from Yatri Niwas in Bhagwati Nagar of winter capital Jammu. These RFID’s as an extra feature to ensure safety of the pilgrims will be provided by the CRPF which is the main component of the security grid established for the pilgrimage.

This year’s Amarnath yatra spreading over 38 days is scheduled to begin on July 3 simultaneously from both traditional Pahalgam and shorter Baltal routes, in Anantnag and Ganderbal districts respectively. The SASB sources said that, so far, more than 3.5 lakh people have registered themselves online for this year’s pilgrimage.

J&K Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha who is also the chairman of thr Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board (SASB) on Tuesday reviewed the security measures for the yatra at a special meeting of the Unified Command headquarters (UCH) here.

The UCH is overseeing seamless coordination among the Army, paramilitary forces, and local police to address potential threats. Its Tuesday 's meeting was also attended by J&K Chief Secretary Atul Dulloo, Northern Army Commander Lt. General Pratik Sharma, DGP Nalin Prabhat, GoC of 15 Corps Lt General Prashant Srivastava, GoC 16 Corps Lt General P K Mishra, GoC 9 Corps Lt General Rajan Sharawat, Air Vice Marshal Vikas Sharma, Air Officer Commanding J&K, Principal Secretary Home Chandraker Bharti, ADGP CID Nitish Kumar, Principal Secretary to Lieutenant Governor and CEO SASB Mandeep K. Bhandari, and other senior officials of armed Forces, CAPFs, J&K police, Intelligence Agencies and civil administration. The meeting also reviewed the overall security situation in J&K. But the focus of the deliberations was the Amarnath yatra and the fallout of Pahalgam terror attack and the situation that evolved post ‘Operation Sindoor’ in the region, the sources said.

The official sources said that Mr. Sinha in his opening remarks at the crucial meeting congratulated the armed forces, the security agencies and J&K police for ‘Operation Sindoor’ and "successfully neutralising terrorists in J&K in the past few days." He directed all the security agencies for precise, intelligence-led operations "to neutralise terrorists and dismantling of support cells", the sources said.

The Lt. Governor also discussed the key strategies and broader counter-terrorism approaches for security and intelligence agencies to achieve the goal of a 'terror-free J&K', the sources said, adding that, while reviewing the security preparedness for the Amarnathji yatra, he directed the senior officials of armed forces, CAPFs, intelligence agencies and J&K police to take all necessary action to ensure safe and peaceful sacred pilgrimage.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has said that the government is putting in adequate measures to ensure safe and smooth conduct of Amarnath yatra as well as the upcoming Mela Khir Bhawani.

While talking to reporters during a visit to Tulla Mulla, a sleepy village about 27-km north of Kashmiri capital Srinagar and where the historic temple of Khir Bhawani sits next to a sacred stream, the Chief Minister said, "The administration is making adequate arrangements towards ensuring smooth conduct of both Khir Bhawani fair and Amarnath yatra".

He reiterated that tourism in Kashmir has been hit badly because of the Pahalgam terror attack and currently the situation is not such to revive the sector again. "Once the Amarnath yatra concludes, the government will sit with stakeholders and take measures to revive tourism again," he said.

He said that tour operators from outside J&K also want tourism to flourish here again. “Some groups have started arriving again. The formal revival measures will be taken once the yatra concludes," he said.