Increase in patrolling activities, surveillance along potential infiltration routes, 24x7 vigilance on highways, and the establishment of random night nakas are among the major security checks initiated by the government to ward off any terror threats to the annual pilgrimage of the Amarnath Yatra 2024.
Significantly, the Yatra, which is set to commence on June 29, is one of the most highly revered pilgrimages in the country, attracting thousands of devotees every year who participate in the holy journey to visit the shrine of Baba Barfani (a name given to Lord Shiva) in Amarnath.
However, stringent measures have been put in place this time amid the enhanced threat perception following a recent spate of terror attacks that left 10 people, including a Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel, dead and 50 injured in Reasi, Kathua, and Doda districts over the last few weeks. Two terrorists were also neutralized in an encounter by the security forces after the attack.
Further, it is pertinent to note that, as part of the Government's commitment to ensure a convenient and hassle-free experience for the devotees of the Amarnath Yatra, several high-level meetings are also being conducted. On Monday (June 17), Senior Superintendent of Police (Samba) Vinay Kumar, who chaired a joint security review on the Yatra preparation, emphasized the need for heightened alertness, teamwork, and real-time intelligence sharing ahead of the Yatra. He also tasked the officers with thwarting malicious intentions of anti-national elements and their collaborators across the international border.
Kumar also underscored the importance of 24x7 vigilance on highways, activation of highway patrol vehicles, checkpoints, reinforcement of border and joint checkpoints, area domination with the army and paramilitary forces, and the positioning of quick reaction teams at strategic locations, officials informed.
Directions were also issued to immediately carry out the verification of hotels, restaurants, lodgements, tenants, and laborers from outside the Union Territory near the border. The officers were tasked with conducting a census of dhabas on highways, areas surrounding lodgement centers, and langer sites, they added.
Significantly, Monday's meeting comes after Union Home Minister Amit Shah chaired a high-level meeting to review security and logistics arrangements for the Amarnath Yatra.
Elaborating on the details of talks held during the meeting, the Home Ministry in a statement said, "He (Amit Shah) instructed establishing perfect inter-agency coordination for effective security arrangements, including a well-established standard operating response mechanism."
"He said that it is Modi Government’s priority to ensure that devotees of Shri Amarnath Yatra can have Holy Darshan with ease and they do not have to face any difficulty," the Ministry added.
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