SRINAGAR: The General Officer Commanding (GoC) of the Army’s strategic Chinar Corps, Lieutenant General Rajiv Ghai, Friday reviewed the security and operational preparedness for the Amarnath Yatra beginning next month.
The 60-day annual pilgrimage to the 3,880-metre-high holy cave in south Kashmir Himalayas is scheduled to commence on July 1 from the twin tracks – the traditional 48-km Nunwan-Pahalgam route in Anantnag district (southern route) and the 14-km shorter but steep Baltal route in Ganderbal district (northern route).
“#ChinarCorpsCdr Lt Gen Rajiv Ghai reviewed the security & operational preparedness along both the northern & southern routes for #Amarnathyatra2023 today,” Chinar Corps said on Twitter.
The Army said the corps commander was accompanied by commanders of the counter-insurgency Kilo and Victor forces.
Lt Gen Ghai was briefed on the multi-tier security set-up, medical arrangements, emergency response mechanism and other infrastructure development for the successful conduct of the yatra, the Army said.
The annual pilgrimage to the 3,880-metre-high cave shrine of Amarnath in south Kashmir is scheduled to start on July 1 and continue till August 31. The journey can be undertaken through two routes — the traditional 48-km route through Pahalgam in south Kashmir’s Anantnag and the 14-km shorter but steep Baltal route in the Ganderbal district of central Kashmir.
Meanwhile, the Jammu and Kashmir Police has begun installing CCTV cameras at Lakhanpur, the entry point of the Kathua district, as part of security measures for the upcoming Amarnath Yatra, officials said.
They also asked owners of shops and business establishments along the Kathua-Jammu highway to focus their CCTV cameras towards the road as part of the security measure, they said.
“Installation of CCTV cameras has started in Lakhanpur area of Kathua district and will be completed in two days,” Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) of Kathua Shivdeep Singh Jamwal said.
Officials said security has been beefed up at Lakhanpur and checkpoints have been set up there to segregate routine vehicles and Amarnath Yatra vehicles entering Jammu and Kashmir.
