Ahead of yatra, Rajnath to review security

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, June 30

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh will arrive on a two-day visit of the state here tomorrow. He is scheduled to review the overall security scenario in the state ahead of the Amarnath yatra.

The Home Minister is also scheduled to visit the Amarnath shrine on July 2, the day the 59-day annual yatra begins. He will be among the first batch of the pilgrims to visit the cave shrine.

During his visit to the shrine, the Union Minister will also assess the security arrangements and other facilities for the pilgrims.

On his arrival in Srinagar, Rajnath Singh will review the security situation of the state at a meeting with Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, senior officers of the police, civil administration, Army, security forces and Intelligence agencies. The recent killings and attacks on telecom operators in the Sopore area of north Kashmir are also expected to come up at the meeting.

The annual Amarnath yatra, set to begin from July 2, took months of preparation and hard work to set the stage for hosting thousands of pilgrims. The process of preparations for this year’s pilgrimage began in January when members of the Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board (SASB) met under the chairmanship of Governor NN Vohra and decided that the pilgrimage would commence on July 2 and continue for 59 days. The Shrine Board, responsible for the better management of the pilgrimage and upgrade of facilities for the pilgrims, was constituted in 2000. The Governor is its ex-officio chairman.

The Board has eight members, assisted by a Chief Executive Officer (CEO). It also operates a 24x7 helpline.

The pilgrimage to the cave shrine is conducted via two routes, a shorter path from Baltal, and a longer, more traditional path from Chandanwari near Pahalgam. The preparations for the pilgrimage included rigorous task of clearing paths, setting up makeshift housing infrastructure, installing foolproof security perimeters and daily management of thousands of pilgrims.

Governor reviews yatra arrangements

Governor NN Vohra, who is also the Chairman of the Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board, held a meeting with CEO of the Shrine Board PK Tripathi, Additional CEO Jitendra Kumar Singh, General Manager (Works) RK Pandita and other officials concerned to review the to-date status of the arrangements for the yatra, which will commence on July 2.

The CEO said as on June 29 a total of 2,04,508 pilgrims had secured advance registration and 22,104 had purchased helicopter tickets from Baltal and Pahalgam to Panjtarni. The Additional CEO said power and water had been supplied to all six yatra camps. Further, ration and food supply items are getting delivered to all camps and medical camps have been established at five out of six camps. As many as 8,800 ponies have been duly registered out of a total of 13,000 which are allowed to operate on both routes, phone connectivity is functional at all camps, 2,500 toilets and 245 baths have been installed out of a total of 2,792, firewood supplies have reached five out of seven camps, all 115 langars have reported at the camps and about 100 have already been installed.

It was also reported that sanitation arrangements and joint police control rooms are in place and fire fighting units are reporting at the camps. Shrine Board’s prefabricated huts, 176 in all, have been erected and shelter sheds are in the process of being put up. The Chairman has directed the CEO to monitor progress in respect of each pending item of work on July 1 and a final review will be done tomorrow.