PILGRIMAGE Commences To Himalayan Shrine Amarnath Amidst Tightest Ever Security Cover

Tightest ever security arrangements have been made for famed annual pilgrimage to Amarnath shrine located in Jammu and Kashmir. The 130 feet high cave is situated at an altitude of 3,888 metre about 141 km from Srinagar, summer capital of the Himalayan state .The shrine is devoted to Lord Shiva. Legend has it that in the cave, Shiva explained the secret of life and eternity to his consort; Parvati. Amartnath is considered one of the holiest shrines in Hinduism. The cave remains covered with snow most of the year except during summer from July to August when it is open to pilgrims. Thousands of Hindu devotees visit it during the period the image of Lord Shiva, in the form of a Lingam, is formed naturally of ice which waxes and wanes with the moon. It concludes on Shravan Purnima (Raksha Bandan) on August 26. In 2018, Amarnathji Yatra commences on 28th June. The Holy Cave Shrine is managed by Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board (SASB) which was constituted by an Act of the Jammu & Kashmir State Legislature in 2000. It is headed by the Governor of Jammu and Kashmir as its ex-officio Chairman.For ensuring security of the pilgrims, the SASB in cooperation with the security forces is not taking any chance. It has announced  that  vehicles tagged with electromagnetic chips, bike and bullet-proof SUV police convoys and scores of bullet-proof bunkers have been arranged .Over two lakh pilgrims have registered for the current annual pilgrimage to the shrine in south Kashmir Himalayas till now.SASB says A posse of over 40,000 armed CRPF and state police personnel have virtually dotted the yatra routes from Jammu– via Pahalgam and Baltal  with their overwhelming presence in armoured vehicles. Forces have deployed a huge assortment of CCTV cameras and drones, assisted by mounted Army columns, to ensure that the yatra route is not breached by terrorists and in case of a possible attack reinforcements reach as fast as possible. “Each vehicle that has pilgrims and is part of the yatra is being tagged using RFID (radio frequency identification) tags and they will be monitored at a control room put in place for this purpose. Security forces have been assigned specific responsibility to sanitise routes and secure a select number of pilgrim vehicles by sandwiching them between bullet proof troop carriers. CRPF road clearing parties will keep sweeping yatra roads against possible improvised explosive device (IEDs) threats to yatra convoys from early morning till late evening .Official sources claimed “Our arrangements are the biggest-ever deployment of the security paraphernalia to ensure protection to the annual yatra “.The RFID tagging of vehicles concept has been introduced for the first time after taking a lesson from last year’s militant attack on a civil vehicle in Anantnag district that left eight pilgrims dead and several injured. Thousands of tags have been purchased and are being stuck on vehicles. They cost about Rs 72 a piece and they will help give a clear picture to security forces in the event of a yatra vehicle carrying is lost. QRTs will immediately be able to locate such a vehicle carrying pilgrims P Pauly, Commandant of the 73rd battalion of the CRPF ,said a control room has been created at his camp in Bemina to track all the RFID-bearing vehicles even as a 100 personnel strong squad has been kept on standby to respond to any untoward incident. A special desk has been set up at the Srinagar International Airport by the CRPF to register pilgrims and to tag their vehicles from there, in an extension to the exercise that is taking place at the land borders that leads to Jammu and Kashmir. Meanwhile, one devotee from Maharashtra said he and his family are not worried about safety when his attention was drawn to the attack on a pilgrims’ bus last year.”We are here for the yatra for the third time and we are sure we will finish it successfully. Risk to life by possible terror threats is just one part of the entire Amarnath journey,” his father Rambhau said.The first batch of pilgrims wad flagged of from the Bhagwati Nagar camp in Jammu at 0445 am  on Wednesday  and they will start their journey to the cave shrine from Baltal and Pahalgam routes tomorrow.Officials said a total of 1,904 pilgrims including 330 women and 30 children were part of this batch.

The Central Reserve Police Force also launched bike-borne quick reaction teams (QRTs) yesterday that will not only respond to any attack or sabotage incident on the yatra route but also double up as an ambulance to rescue unwell pilgrims, security personnel or locals, the official said. The commandos on these bikes are equipped with camera-mounted helmets that will help analyse and video record a trouble situation.A “record number” of mobile bullet-proof bunkers and semi-permanent observation posts have been set up all along the yatra routes that are being manned largely by the CRPF followed by other central security forces and the JK police. The official said “all” security forces camps in the state have been asked to stay on alert as militants may try to target them after witnessing heavy deployment of uniformed personnel along the yatra route.”There are inputs that terrorists may strike at these camps as they know that the security grid for the Amarnath yatra has been made very strong and vigil is at an all-time high. Leaves of personnel have been slightly rationed to ensure that camps and other movements of forces are not rendered vulnerable during the two-months of the yatra time,” the official said. Special contingents of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and Jammu and Kashmir state rescue and relief squads have been placed at vital locations all along the yatra route to respond to any natural or man-made calamity.( With inputs & image from DNA India)