Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, June 8: The Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has approved 90 additional companies of para-military forces for peaceful conduct of annual Shri Amarnath ji pilgrimage, which is starting from June 28 in South Kashmir Himalayas.
After a gap of some years, authorities have also associated the Border Security Force (BSF) with yatra security arrangements while Seema Shastra Bal (SSB) would also provide security cover to the pilgrims for the first time. Simultaneously, authorities have sounded Army and BSF on high alert along the Line of Control (LoC) and International Border (IB) to thwart infiltration attempts by the militants to sabotage yatra, which had always remained a target of the militant outfits especially Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) and Hizbul Mujahideen (HM).
Director General of Police (DGP) K Rajendra told the Excelsior that elaborate security arrangements were being made by multiple security agencies this time to provide fool-proof security cover to the pilgrims, who would start reaching Jammu, Pahalgam and Baltal on June 27, a day ahead of the start of yatra. The yatra would start on June 28 and conclude on August 10 on the occasion of Sharavan Purnima and Raksha Bandhan.
Rajendra said Army, BSF, CRPF, SSB and police would provide multi security cover to the pilgrims of Shri Amarnath ji cave shrine. “The deployment would start latest by June 15 and would be completely in place at least a week ahead of the start of yatra. Security agencies would completely sanitize the twin tracks of Baltal and Chandanwari, base camp at Jammu, advance base camps at Baltal and Nunwan and entire mountains surrounding the cave shrine,” he added.
The DGP said the MHA has provided 90 additional companies of para-military forces to Jammu and Kashmir for making elaborate security arrangements for the annual pilgrimage. “Number of the additional companies given by the MHA was sufficient for providing security cover to the yatris,” he added.
After few years break, the DGP said, authorities would also be utilizing services of the BSF and for the first time taking services of another para-military force-the SSB in deployment for security of the pilgrims.
“Army and BSF would man the heights at Shri Amarnath ji cave shrine while para-military forces like CRPF, SSB would be deployed at base camp, forward base camps and track along with Jammu and Kashmir Police, Armed Police, Indian Reserve Police etc, which would play crucial role in the security arrangements,” the state police chief said.
“Every security agency is being given certain role for security of the pilgrims-be it manning the heights, camps, tracks, frisking of yatris, laying special nakas and keeping hawk’s eye on anti-national elements, who could try to sabotage the yatra, as usual. However, we are determined to provide safe, secure and peaceful environ to the pilgrims,” Rajendra said.
He added that there would be complete synergy and co-ordination among all security agencies, for which the officers of the agencies would hold regular meetings and remain in touch with each other telephonically.
In another significant decision, Rajendra said the police authorities would frisk the pilgrims at Lakhanpur and segregate tourists and yatris. “Only those pilgrims, who fulfill all formalities would be allowed to come,” he added.
Authorities have alerted Army on the LoC and BSF on the IB to ensure that the militants didn’t manage to sneak into this side to disturb the pilgrimage.
“Though Army and BSF were already maintaining high alert, they would be keeping strict vigil on the borders to thwart possibility of any infiltration attempt by the militants into Jammu and Kashmir to disturb the pilgrimage,” the DGP said.
Trending Now
E-Paper
Follow our WhatsApp channel