NewzVille Desk
The Union Ministry of Home Affairs, in consultation with the Jammu and Kashmir administration, has decided to deploy 670 companies of Central Armed Police Forces for this year’s 57-day Shri Amarnath Ji Yatra from July 3 to Aug. 28.
The deployment is the highest ever for the annual pilgrimage as authorities expect a large turnout of devotees and aim to ensure extensive security arrangements across the Union Territory.
Official sources said the Ministry of Home Affairs, along with senior security officials in Jammu and Kashmir, finalized the security plan for the pilgrimage.
The deployment will cover areas from Lakhanpur, the entry point to Jammu and Kashmir, to the cave shrine in the south Kashmir Himalayas. Security arrangements will also include the base camps at Nunwan in Pahalgam and Baltal, Yatri Niwas in Jammu, the Pathankot-Jammu and Jammu-Srinagar national highways, and both pilgrimage routes.
Additional paramilitary personnel are expected to arrive in Jammu and Kashmir by early June, with the full deployment scheduled to be completed by June 25, about a week before the yatra begins.
The Army will secure key heights along the pilgrimage route, including areas near the cave shrine and parts of the national highway, sources said.
Jammu and Kashmir Police will also play a major role in the security arrangements. Officials said deployment plans have been designed to ensure that routine anti-terror operations are not affected.
Authorities are focusing on security along the Baltal and Chandanwari routes, as well as at the cave shrine. Security at the Baltal and Nunwan base camps and Yatri Niwas in Jammu will also be strengthened.
Road Opening Parties and regular patrols by paramilitary forces and local police will operate along the national highway during the pilgrimage period.
Officials said security on the Jammu-Srinagar railway route will also be enhanced as many pilgrims are expected to travel aboard Vande Bharat Express trains. Two trains are currently operating between Jammu and Srinagar, and additional services during the yatra have not been ruled out.
The railway corridor through Udhampur, Katra, Reasi, Banihal and Qazigund already has elaborate security arrangements, which will be further strengthened ahead of the pilgrimage.
More than 350,000 pilgrims have registered for this year’s yatra since the process began on April 15 through 550 designated bank branches across the country, officials said.
The annual pilgrimage will begin simultaneously from the Baltal-Sonamarg and Nunwan-Pahalgam routes and conclude on Aug. 28, coinciding with Sawan Purnima and Raksha Bandhan.
Pilgrim registration is being conducted through designated branches of Punjab National Bank, Jammu and Kashmir Bank, State Bank of India and Yes Bank.
