Union Home Secy, DIB on Srinagar visit to review security arrangements for Amarnath Yatra

With the annual Amarnath Yatra all set to start on June 30 after a gap of three years, the Union Home Secretary  Ajay Bhalla accompanied by the Director of the Intelligence Bureau Arvind Kumar will visit Srinagar today for a two-day visit to review security and other arrangements for the pilgrimage.

Srinagar: With the annual Amarnath Yatra all set to start on June 30 after a gap of three years, the Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla accompanied by the Director of the Intelligence Bureau Arvind Kumar will visit Srinagar today for a two-day visit to review security and other arrangements for the pilgrimage.

The Home Secretary and DIB will hold meetings with top police, army and security officials of Jammu and Kashmir about the security measures for the upcoming yatra. The officials will prepare a report and submit it to the Union Home Minister Amit Shah in New Delhi.

For the 43-day Amarnath Yatra, online registration started on April 11. For the pilgrimage, the Home Ministry has already provided 40 companies of security forces for security-related purposes.

The yatra, which is held from picturesque Sonamarg and Pahalgam in the valley, is reopening for pilgrims after a gap of three years. The pilgrimage was halted in August 2019 before the abrogation of Article 370 by the BJP government.

Secretary to Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India, Apurva Chand this week in Srinagar said that this year’s Amarnath Yatra will be one of the biggest Yatras in the history of Jammu and Kashmir as around 6-8 lakh Yatris are expected to arrive in the Union Territory.