Srinagar: The General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of Northern Command, Lt Gen Upendra Dwivedi, reviewed the preparations for the Amarnath Yatra 2023. Pilgrims will undertake the Amarnath pilgrimage commencing on July 1. The religious procession to the holy cave shrine of Lord Shiva will continue for two months.
The devotees undertake Amarnath Yatra via two routes. One is through the southern route via Baltal in Ganderbal and the other is a northern route through Pahalgam in Anantnag district. Lt Gen Upendra Dwivedi, the chief of the Northern Command, inspected the security arrangements on both routes. He was briefed on multi-tiered security arrangements on both the Yatra routes. The security arrangements include night domination with the help of night vision devices, use of snipers and drone systems, deployment of bomb disposal and dog squads, placement of devices to counter IED explosions, vehicle repair depots as well as recovery teams.
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For the smooth movement of convoys, Army will establish synergy with the civil agencies to make the Yatra incident-free. Besides, the Lt Gen was also shown the arrangements undertaken by Border Roads Organisation (BRO), Indian Air Force and Army teams from the High Altitude Warfare School.
According to Army officials, full-proof security arrangements have been made along the Yatra routes leading up to the holy cave shrine. The Army will work in close coordination with civil administration, NGOs and other agencies. Multiple medical detachments with oxygen cylinders, as well as control rooms, will be set up at various places on both the Yatra routes. The makeshift medical facilities will be operational round-the-clock for devotees. Various civil aviation agencies have also been incorporated to provide devotees with air travel facilities.
The Army has set up helipads at multiple locations to meet the medical emergencies or air-lifting of sick devotees if the need arises. Several camps have been set up for pilgrims. In these camps, winter clothing and other arrangements have been made available for devotees to cope with the high altitude harsh weather conditions.
Taking a cue from cloudbursts during Amarnath Yatra in 2022, civilian and avalanche rescue teams will also be deployed en route to the yatra. Heavy earthmovers will also be placed at multiple locations in case of an emergency. The seamless communication network on both the yatra routes has also been operationalised.
