Union Home Minister Amit Shah will chair a high-level meeting today to review the preparations for the Amarnath Yatra to begin soon in Jammu and Kashmir and the security arrangements related to it. Sources gave information about this. The 62-day annual pilgrimage to visit Baba Barfani at the holy cave of Amarnath, located at an altitude of 3,880 meters in the south Kashmir Himalayas, will begin from July 1 and continue till August 31. Sources said that the Home Minister will review the preparations for the Amarnath Yatra with top officials of the central government and the Jammu and Kashmir administration. He said that Shah will also take stock of the plans being made to ensure complete security of the pilgrims. According to sources, intelligence has been received that Pakistan-based terrorist organizations may try to disrupt the Amarnath Yatra. In view of this, adequate security forces will be deployed on the yatra route.
Possibility of involvement of all stake holders related to pilgrimage
Sources said that all the stake holders associated with this pilgrimage are likely to attend the review meeting. During this, various issues related to all the preparations being done for the yatra will be discussed. According to sources, there is heavy snow on both the routes leading to the Amarnath cave-Baltal and Pahalgam and the Border Roads Organization (BRO) has been tasked to clear the snow by June 15. Last year 3.45 lakh devotees had visited Baba Barfani and this year this number is estimated to cross five lakh. Sources said that in view of the danger of any possible natural disaster, the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has started identifying suitable places for the pilgrim camps. It may be known that last year due to heavy rains, 16 devotees had died due to flash floods near the holy cave.
There is an increased chance of flash floods
According to sources, there is a possibility of aerial inspection by Indian Air Force helicopters to detect glacial phenomena and formation of lakes in the upper part of the holy cave. Due to glacial events and the formation of lakes, the possibility of flash floods in the low-lying areas increases. Sources said the aerial inspection was conducted only after the flash floods in June last year, but this time the exercise will be carried out before the start of the yatra and at frequent intervals during the two-month pilgrimage. He told that aerial survey can be done by a team having expertise in remote sensing and satellite, hydrology and disaster response. Sources said that in case of dangerous accumulation of water, emergency measures will be taken along the entire pilgrimage route, especially in the area near the Amarnath cave.
