The Central government is keeping a close vigil on the annual Amarnath Yatra that began today under tight security cover. The first batch of 1,272 pilgrims left the Jammu base camp for the cave shrine, located at an altitude of 3,338 metres.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh met the home minister and intelligence agency chiefs to discuss the security situation in Kashmir and steps to secure a safe passage for the pilgrims.
A cavalcade of 53 vehicles carrying devotees under was flagged off by Tourism and Culture Minister Nawang Rigzin Jora from the Amarnath base camp at Bagwatinagar Yatri Niwas at 5.00 am in the morning. Security will be provided by the Central Reserve Police Force, the Indo-Tibetan Border Troops and the Jammu and Kashmir police.
Undeterred by the unrest and a curfew in the Valley, authorities allowed the convoy – comprising 566 men, 230 women, 32 children and 444 sadhus – to leave for the Pahalgam and Baltal base camps.
“Adequate security personnel have been deployed along the route, from Jammu to Amarnath in Kashmir, for the safety and security of the pilgrims. The yatra has begun today and everything is going on well,” Jora told reporters.
“There is no threat to the yatra. We have not received any specific input with regard to targeting the Amarnath yatra,” said deputy inspector general of police (Jammu-Kathua range) Farooq Khan.
Over the last weekend, sadhus had gathered in Jammu in large numbers and asserted their right to set out on the yatra on foot, without security. This, observers said, was prompted by an earlier statement by Syed Ali Shah Geelani, the rebel Hurriyat leader, that the yatra should be cut short ‘for environmental reasons’.
At a public meeting earlier this month, Geelani had also demanded that Jammu and Kashmir be renamed as the “Islamic republic of Jammu and Kashmir” — something that was rejected by fellow militant leaders like Yaseen Malik.
Transporters in Jammu have announced a closure, beginning with the chief of the oil tanker transporters’ association of Jammu announcing a suspension of supply of oil to the Valley.
Observers said religious polarisation was building up in the region and rumours were being spread with the intention to create communal confusion. “I hope the government realises this,” said Sushobha Barve, who heads an NGO working in both Jammu and Kashmir.
