9 June, New Delhi: On Friday, Home Minister Amit Shah will reportedly convene a high-level meeting to evaluate the state of readiness and security for the impending Amarnath pilgrimage in Jammu and Kashmir. Starting on July 1 and ending on August 31, pilgrims from all over the world will make the arduous journey to the sacred cave shrine of Amarnath, located at a height of 3,880 metres in the south Kashmir Himalayas.
According to reports cited by news agency PTI, the home minister would meet with top officials from the central government and the Jammu and Kashmir administration to discuss the status of preparations for the next Amarnath pilgrimage. At the discussion, participants will talk about how to make the pilgrims as secure as possible.
According to the sources, intelligence indicates that terror groups headquartered in Pakistan may try to disrupt the pilgrimage, which calls for the deployment of sufficient security troops. In order to ensure that the pilgrimage goes off without a hitch, everyone with a vested interest in its success will be present at the meeting.
Both the Baltal and Pahalgam routes to the holy cave have been reported to contain substantial quantities of snow. According to the sources, the Border Roads Organisation has been given the responsibility of removing the snow by June 15.
The National Disaster Response Force is looking for safe areas to set up pilgrim camps in case of natural calamities like the flash floods that killed 16 people last year near the shrine.
The Indian Air Force is sending helicopters into the cave’s higher reaches to keep an eye out for flash floods caused by glacier occurrences and lake creation. According to reliable sources, this year’s drill will be conducted both before the yatra begins and at regular intervals during the two-month journey. In contrast, such operations were only conducted after the June flash floods last year.
Aerial surveys might be performed by a group with experience in fields like disaster response, hydrology, remote sensing, and satellite technology. According to the sources, if a potentially hazardous water buildup is discovered anywhere along the pilgrimage path, special precautions will be taken near the cave shrine.
