Srinagar, Jun 19: Lieutenant General Upendra Dwivedi, Northern Army Commander, reviewed the ongoing preparations for 62-day long Amarnath Yatra, commencing on July 1 onwards, officials said on Monday.
The annunal pilgrimage to Hindu cave shrine takes place annually via two routes—Southern route through Baltal in Ganderbal and the Northern Route through Pehalgam in Anantnag district.
“The Army Commander inspected the arrangements on both the routes, where he was briefed on the multi-tiered security arrangements to include night domination through night vision devices, snipers, drone systems, bomb disposal squads, dog squads, counter IED equipments, vehicle repair and recovery teams to ensure smooth movement of convoys, and synergy with civil agencies being under taken to make the Yatra incident free,” PRO (Defence) Srinagar said in a statement.
He was also shown the arrangements made by BRO, Indian Air Force and Teams from High Altitude Warfare School, the PRO said.
“The road stretch to Holy Cave Shrine is almost clear for induction of pilgrims. In coordination with Civil administration, NGOs and other agencies, Army is establishing multiple medical detachments with special arrangements of Oxygen cylinders and control rooms at various points along both the routes for humanitarian aid that will be operational round the clock,” he said. Various civil aviation agencies have been incorporated for providing air travel facilities to the devotees, he said.
“Army has established Helipads at multiple locations for medical emergencies and to cater for other air lift requirements. Army has also established a number of Yatri camps with adequate tentage facility along with special winter clothing arrangement to provide habitat and comfort during the Holy Yatra.”
Based on the experiences of the Cloud Burst during the Amarnath Yatra 2022, the PRO said, civil rescue teams and avalanche rescue teams will also be deployed enroute systematically to mitigate any kind of disaster. “Earth movers will also be placed at the Holy Cave and multiple locations enroute for emergencies,” he said, adding, “Seamless communication network on both the routes has also been operationalised. SFF detachments will also be overlooking the security of the people.” An “All Inclusive Approach”, he said, have been followed to synergize the efforts with all civil agencies including joint training, joint operation, joint exercises and mock drills are being conducted to ensure seamless and successful conduct of the Yatra this year.
“Northern Army commander appreciated the good work of all agencies and the synergy between them,” the PRO said, adding, “He complimented them for their proactive action and exhorted them to meet future challenges.”
