Senior officers review security arrangements at Amarnath cave shrine

SRINAGAR: Top security officials in Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday reviewed the security arrangements for the annual Amarnath Yatra beginning later this week.

Senior officers of Jammu and Kashmir Police, CRPF, BSF, Indian Army and Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) reviewed the security arrangements at the holy cave as well as along the traditional route to the shrine.

“ADGP Kashmir Vijay Kumar alongwith IG CRPF, IG BSF, 3 Sector Commander, SSP Anantnag & CO ITBP visited Panjtarni & #HolyCave,” Kashmir Zone Police said on Twitter.

Senior officers reviewed the security arrangements and interacted with other stakeholders, police said. All officers also jointly inspected the track between Panjtarni and the holy cave, they said.

The Jammu and Kashmir administration also conducted a trial run from Jammu to Banihal along the Jammu-Srinagar national highway during the day to inspect the security and other arrangements for the pilgrimmage.

The 62-day-long pilgrimage to the cave shrine in the south Kashmir Himalayas will commence on July 1 and conclude on August 31. Pilgrims will embark on the yatra via two routes — the traditional 48-kilometre Nunwan route, in south Kashmir’s Pahalgam, and the shorter 14-kilometre Baltal route in central Kashmir’s Ganderbal.

The first batch of pilgrims will depart from the Bhagwati Nagar base camp in Jammu on June 30. They will travel on the Jammu-Srinagar national highway before reaching their designated base camps in Pahalgam and Baltal. (PTI)