As the administration of Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir has geared up all its men and machinery for hosting the annual Amarnath Yatra, which this year is expected to be attended by a record number of pilgrims from various states and UTs, it is expected that the Yatra will be held in a peaceful and secure environment, with all possible facilities for the visiting tourists. Right from the last more than two months, officers from both civil administration as well as security forces have been making necessary arrangements for the Yatra which this year is going to be held after a gap of two years as in 2020 and 2021, the annual pilgrimage was cancelled keeping in view the safety of people due to COVID scenario at that time. But now as a significant control has been witnessed over the pandemic, due to mega-vaccination drive carried out by the government and active cooperation of people, the administration of J&K is all set to host a mega religious event. But due to some recent targeted killings in the valley wherein the members of minority communities were martyred in broad daylight, an environment of fear and insecurity has developed. Moreover, some terrorists and anti-national elements have also given threats to disrupt the event but looking at the significance and importance of the Yatra, the Government has geared up security forces and other intelligence agencies to tackle any situation at any time. Moreover, for ensuring safety and security of the visiting pilgrims, the security agencies this year have put in place several high-tech arrangements with enhanced number of deployment, to provide a secure and safe environment to the pilgrims. As per the sources, besides taking several new security arrangements, the security forces have also advised all the visiting tourists to carry their Aadhar cards or some other Government identity card with biometric identification. It seems that the agencies are fully alert this time and didn’t want to leave any hole unplugged, of which the anti-national elements or terrorists can take benefit for fulfilling their nefarious designs thereby disrupting the Yatra in any way. These out of the box initiatives prove the determination of the administration to hold a safe and secure pilgrimage without any type of risk or threat.
