Multi-Tier Security As Amarnath Yatra Begins

By OB Bureau On Jun 27, 2018

New Delhi: The much-awaited Amarnath Yatra began on Wednesday morning amid tight security. The first batch of pilgrims left from Jammu’s Bhagwati Nagar base camp at 4:30 am.

The yatra that began days after BJP pulled out of the ruling alliance with the PDP, resulting in Governor’s rule in Jammu & Kashmir, will have strict rules. No vehicles carrying the pilgrims will be allowed to start from base camps in Pahalgam and Baltal after 2 pm to ensure they reach Jawahar Tunnel, which connects Srinagar to Jammu, latest by 7 pm. The pilgrims will start their onward journey to the 3,880 meter high cave shrine by foot on Thursday, marking the commencement of the pilgrimage.

The security is tightened to ensure that the vehicles cross the stretch covered by CRPF road opening parties, tasked with sweeping the road or IEDs or landmine within their duty period.

Here’s all you need to know about this year’s Amarnath Yatra:

All vehicles going up will have RFID tags to help CRPF and J&K police track their movement.
Special arrangements are made to rule out any diversions from the 75-100 km stretch covering high-risk areas. Security personnel will remain in touch with drivers of all registered vehicles.
Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board (SASB) has decided to allow 7,500 pilgrims on each route daily considering the carrying capacity of the existing tracks and other available infrastructure.
Around 40,000 security personnel from the police, paramilitary forces, National Disaster Response Force and the Army have been deployed to keep a vigil on the yatra this year. Supervision will be done by SP or SSP level officers and aerial surveillance by drones.
Around 2,11,994 pilgrims have registered by now, said an official spokesperson, which he says is due to reduced helicopter prices.
This year, per passenger one-way helicopter-fare for Neelgrath- Panjtarni is Rs 1,600 and Rs 2,751 for Pahalgam-Panjtarni.
The registration for Yatra started on March 1 this year through 440 designated bank branches.

“All arrangements are in place to ensure smooth and peaceful pilgrimage, which is a symbol of brotherhood and communal harmony,” Inspector General of Police, Jannu, S D Singh Jamwal said. The Yatra is scheduled to conclude on August 26 coinciding with the ‘Raksha Bandhan’.