Amit Shah chairs meet to take stock of security preparations for Amarnath Yatra
Amit Shah directed officials to ensure adequate security arrangements on the entire route of the 62-day annual pilgrimage.
Union home minister Amit Shah on Friday reviewed preparations for the upcoming Amarnath Yatra in Jammu & Kashmir while chairing a high-level meeting and said it is the priority of the central government to ensure that pilgrims have a comfortable visit, according to an official aware of the matter.
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According to a home ministry spokesperson, Shah directed officials to ensure adequate security arrangements on the entire route of the 62-day annual pilgrimage, which is scheduled to commence on July 1 and culminate on August 31.
The pilgrims travel through two routes – Baltal and Pahalgam – in Jammu and Kashmir.
The Union minister, the spokesperson said, also asked officials to make available air service from Srinagar and Jammu at night for the convenience of the pilgrims and stressed on the need for proper arrangements along the route from the airport and railway station to the pilgrimage base camp.
“During the meeting, the home minister said it is the priority of the Narendra Modi government that Amarnath pilgrims should have comfortable ‘darshan’ and should not face any difficulty. He directed officials to make adequate security arrangements on the entire route of Amarnath pilgrimage,” the spokesperson said.
During the meeting, the home minister directed officials to ensure an adequate number of medical beds and deployment of ambulances and helicopters to meet any medical emergency.
He asked them to ensure adequate stock of oxygen cylinders refilling and asked for availability of additional teams of doctors, the spokesperson said.
“He (Shah) directed to ensure a better communication system on the yatra route and deployment of machines to immediately open a route in case of a landslide,” the spokesperson said.
“During the meeting, it was apprised that all the pilgrims will be given RFID cards so that their real time location can be traced. Everyone will be given ₹5 lakh insurance cover. There will be insurance cover of ₹50,000 for each animal carrying pilgrims,” the spokesperson added.
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Besides, arrangements for tent city, Wi-Fi hotspots and proper lighting will be made on the travel routes. Additionally, online-live ‘darshan of Baba Barfani’, live telecast of morning and evening ‘aarti’ in the holy Amarnath cave and religious and cultural programmes will be organised at the base camps, the spokesperson said.
The meeting was attended by Union home secretary Ajay Bhalla, J&K Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, Intelligence Bureau director Tapan Deka and top officials of the paramilitary forces, Indian Army and J&K administration.
