Police gear up for Char Dham Yatra

Himanshu Kumar Lall

Tribune News Service

Dehradun, May 2

A large number of pilgrims is expected to congregate when the Char Dham Yatra starts on May 9 and the Uttarakhand Police are in no mood to leave any stone unturned to ensure congestion-free traffic movement along the yatra route. The top brass and the police personnel has pulled up the socks to ensure flawless law and order in seven districts of the Garhwal division of the state.

After conducting a thorough survey focusing on accident-prone and landslide or mudslide-prone zones along the yatra route, the state police have set up 49 temporary police posts in six districts. With this, the total number of permanent and temporary police posts has increased to 234 along the yatra route.

The maximum number of temporary police posts (13) has been set up in Rudraprayag district, followed by Haridwar district (12). The police set up eight temporary police posts at sensitive areas in Uttarkashi district, while six posts each have been set up in Chamoli and Dehradun districts and only four temporary police posts were set up in Tehri district.

With an aim to ensuring proper policing along the yatra route, the Uttarakhand Police have transferred nearly 150 SSIs, SIs, head constables, and constables from plains to the higher areas of the state.

Haridwar and Dehradun districts have 56 and 51 permanent police posts, respectively, while Chamoli and Pauri districts have 22 permanent police posts each. Tehri district has 21 permanent police posts. The sensitive district in terms of landslide or mudslides, Rudraprayag district, already has four permanent police posts at Gaurikund, Fatta, Maikimaddi, and Gholterri.

Garhwal IG Sanjay Gunjyal, while talking about the security measures being taken by the police, said SSPs and SPs had been instructed to take prompt action against anti-social elements. The SDRF and police personnel would be deployed along the yatra route in large numbers to maintain law and order in all seven districts of the Garhwal division. “Safety of pilgrims and tourists is our prime concern and no stone would be left unturned to ensure it,” he said.

A special task force, comprising police personnel and members from the Nehru Institute of Mountaineering (NIM) at Uttarkashi, was set up for the Kedarnath route, via Bhimbali, to respond swiftly in case of a disaster, Gunjyal added.