Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday chaired a high-level meeting to review security and operational preparedness for the upcoming annual Amarnath Yatra, officials said. The yatra is scheduled to commence on July 3.
According to officials, the meeting was attended by National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval, Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, Army Chief General Upendra Dwivedi, and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) Director General GP Singh, among other senior security and administrative officials.
The 57-day pilgrimage to the Himalayas in south Kashmir requires extensive security arrangements, with Central and Union Territory agencies working in close coordination.
Officials said a multi-layered security arrangements have been put in place for the upcoming Yatra to ensure a smooth and hassle-free pilgrimage. Every year, pilgrims travel through the traditional 48-km Nunwan-Pahalgam route in Anantnag district and the shorter but steeper 14-km Balal route in Ganderbal district in central Kashmir.
Ahead of Friday's meeting, LG Sinha reviewed the preparations, directing all departments and security agencies to make all arrangements in place for security, healthcare, sanitation, connectivity, and pilgrim services.
The Jammu and Kashmir Police have also deployed sophisticated screening and anti-sabotage equipment to prevent any untoward incidents. These include portable RCIED jammers, deep search metal detectors, explosive and liquid explosive detectors, non-linear junction detectors (NLJDs), contraband busters, prodder vehicle search mirrors, optical fibrescopes, multi-type CCTV systems, XBIS, vehicle-mounted XBIS, multi-zone DFMDs (fixed/multizone), HHMDs, search metal detectors, and other specialised equipment, they added.
Police have also launched the QR code-based "Pahchan App", designed to digitally verify workers and vendors operating along the Yatra route.
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