Srinagar. June 30: Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Monday said the government has made all the arrangements for the smooth and peaceful Amarnath Yatra.
Omar said Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha chaired two meetings ahead of the pilgrimage– one with the political parties and one with the civil society to ensure proper facilities for pilgrims.
“We have made the necessary arrangements to facilitate the pilgrims. The LG chaired two meetings, one with political parties and one with civil society. All necessary security arrangements have been made, and we are eagerly waiting for the pilgrims to arrive. The yatra will be flagged off from Jammu on 2 July, and they will be welcomed here…We hope and pray that the yatra is a success, pilgrims come in good numbers, offer prayers, and go back safely…”Abdullah told reporters.
From hi-tech CCTV cameras to mountain rescue teams and from jammers to specially-trained sniffer dogs, security forces have mobilized all tech and human resources to secure the 38-day pilgrimage.
Nearly 581 companies of the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) will be deployed for the yatra. This is in addition to the local police, army, and other forces deployed on the ground for different counter-terror and internal security duties.
Of which, more than 180 companies of CAPS have been deployed in the Jammu region, which is the first base camp for yatris before embarking on pilgrimage to the Himalayas in Kashmir
The Amarnath cave is accessible from two routes in the Kashmir Valley. The 46-km Pahalgam trek is an ancient route covered in five days. The new 14-kilometre Baltal-Holy cave route is now preferred by the pilgrims since the journey can be completed in a day.
Security forces have been deployed to secure the National Highway all along from Lakhanpur to Banihal. “From road opening parties to CCTV cameras, everything has been set up.. There was no road opening party arrangement from Lakhanpur to Jammu last year, but this year there will be ROP here as well,” Tuti said.
Central Reserve Police Force will be deploying around 30 trained personnel from its Mountain Rescue Teams (MRTs) to ensure the safety and support of pilgrims undertaking the high-altitude pilgrimage, sources said.
The first batch of pilgrims will be flagged off from the Jammu base camp on July 2, while the Yatra will officially begin on July 3 via both the Baltal and Pahalgam routes.