 "Pilgrims enroute to the holy cave shrine of Amarnath from the Baltal base camp during the annual Amarnath Yatra, in Ganderbal district, June 29, 2024. File Photo/PTI")
The central government has pulled all the ropes to protect pilgrims during the Amarnath Yatra that is set to commence from July 3. Security measures have been beefed up in Jammu and Kashmir in view of the yatra, which will happen months after the Pahalgam attack.
What security measures have been taken?
Nearly 50,000 CRPF personnel, along with Jammu and Kashmir Police, will be deployed along the yatra route to ensure security. Their duties will include road clearance operations and detecting or defusing IEDs, with quick response teams positioned at strategic locations.
As the yatri convoys, escorted by CRPF troops equipped with satellite phones, move through, all approach roads to the national highway will be sealed. Each convoy will also be equipped with signal jammers for added security.
Apart from this, the government will also deploy surveillance drones, bomb disposal squads and canine teams along the routes to be used by pilgrims for the 38-day-long yatra.
Yatra duration slashed
For the first time, the duration of the upcoming Amarnath Yatra to the sacred cave shrine of Lord Shiva in Jammu and Kashmir has been shortened to 38 days, down from 52 days last year.
The yatra is an annual pilgrimage to the sacred Amarnath Cave Shrine, dedicated to Lord Shiva. The temple is located at an altitude of about 3,888 meters in the hills of Jammu and Kashmir.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsThe cave houses a naturally formed ice Shivling, attracting lakhs of devotees to the shrine every year.