Srinagar: As the authorities are in the light of security concerns, particularly following the last month’s terror attack at Pahalgam, unfolding an ever-hardened and robust security framework to safeguard the pilgrims and service providers during the upcoming Amarnath yatra, the Centre has approved the deployment of 581 additional companies (approximately 60,000 personnel) of various Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) and paramilitary forces to secure the significant annual religious event.The official sources here said that apart from these 581 companies, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has authorized the Jammu and Kashmir administration and the police to utilise 156 CAPF companies already stationed in the region. These include 91 CRPF, 30 SSB, 15 CISF, 13 BSF, and 7 ITBP units, each comprising around 75 to 80 personnel plus their helpers, the sources said, adding that these with additional troops being inducted by the MHA will secure the pilgrimage routes and surrounding areas.The MHA has informed the J&K authorities that additional 425 companies of CAPFs and paramilitary forces will be dispatched by June 10, which will include 130 BSF, 128 CRPF (including 5 Mahila or women units), 67 SSB, 55 ITBP, and 45 CISF companies.Together with the security personnel already stationed in J&K for law and order duties, the additional troops will be tasked with securing the Amarnath cave- shrine, managing pilgrim convoys, dominating sensitive stretches, and maintaining a constant presence along both the Baltal and Pahalgam routes, the sources said, adding that a week or so after the conclusion of the yatra on August 9 (Raksha Bandhan) they will be de-inducted.Following a formal request from the J&K administration sent on May 20, the MHA flashed a communication to (J&K) Chief Secretary Atul Dulloo and Director General of Police Nalin Prabhat on May 23, informing them about the induction of additional troops.The MHA has directed the J&K administration to work out the detailed deployment plan in close coordination with the officials of the respective security forces. It has also been asked to make comprehensive arrangements for accomodating and supporting the logistics of additional troops, the sources said.The Railway authorities have been issued special instructions to allocate sufficient train coaches for the movement of these security personnel to and from the Katra station near Jammu where most of these additional troops will be transported in buses and other vehicles, both for their inbound and outbound journeys.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 Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board (SASB) officials expect more than half a million devotees from across the country and abroad will turn up at Amarnath to pay obeisance and have the darshan of fully formed natural Shivling or ice-lingam of Lord Shiva inside the revered place of Hindu worship tucked away in the Kashmir Himalayas at a height of 3,888 metres. Till mid-May, more than 3.5 lakh people had registered themselves online for this year’s pilgrimage, the SASB sources said.As already reported by this newspaper, considering the April 22 terror attack at Pahalgam which killed 25 Hindu tourists and a local Muslim horse-handler, the security measures for the upcoming Amarnath yatra are being significantly intensified.Apart from deploying thousands of personnel from the J&K police, the CRPF, the BSF, the ITBP, and other 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 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 service 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, sniffer dogs, 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.Each pilgrim will also be provided with RFID card, the facility first introduced during the yatra in June-August 2022. As has been claimed by J&K Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha who is also the chairman of the SASB, the RFID chips have played a great role towards keeping track of the pilgrims during the yatra undertaken through rugged hills.Last week, Sinha 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.Sinha 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.
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