Multiple-tier security for Amarnath pilgrimage 2018

A multiple-tier security arrangement comprising the Army, paramilitary forces and the Jammu and Kashmir Police will be put in place for the Amarnath pilgrimage starting June 28, officials said today.

A high-level meeting, chaired by Union Home Secretary Rajiv Gauba, talked about the various aspects of the security set-up during the nearly 40-day pilgrimage to the cave shrine dedicated to Lord Shiva in the Himalayas in Jammu and Kashmir.

A multi-tier security will be put in place for the smooth conduct of the pilgrimage which attracts a few lakh pilgrims every year, an official privy to the meeting said.

Tracking of pilgrims' movement through satellites, installation of jammers, CCTV cameras and bulletproof bunkers, deployment of dog squads, quick reaction teams and thousands of security personnel will be a part of the security drill along the pilgrimage routes as the situation in Kashmir Valley continues to be volatile, another official said.

Director General of Jammu and Kashmir S P Vaid, chief of CRPF R R Bhatnagar, representatives of other paramilitary forces, the Army and intelligence agencies were also present in the meeting.

Around 35,000 to 40,000 troops were deployed during the Amarnath pilgrimage in 2017. A total of 2.60 lakh pilgrims offered prayers at the revered site that year.

Situated in a narrow gorge at the farther end of Lidder Valley, Amarnath shrine stands at 3,888 metres, 46 km from Pahalgam and 14 km from Baltal in Jammu and Kashmir.

As many as 60 incidents of terrorist violence have taken place in Jammu and Kashmir from January till mid-March this year. Fifteen security personnel and 17 terrorists were killed in such incidents, official data said.

Earlier this month, an officer of the Jammu and Kashmir Police was badly injured in a stone pelting incident in Srinagar.