J&K: Union Minister Takes Stock Of Arrangements In Ramban District Ahead Of Amarnath Yatra

Expressing satisfaction over the arrangements, the minister said the district administration has made pre-emptive preparations to ensure a peaceful yatra.

Amarnath Yatra is set to start from June 30 this year

New Delhi: Ahead of the Amarnath Yatra scheduled to begin at the end of this month, Union Minister Jitendra Singh on Sunday reviewed the arrangements in Ramban district of Jammu and Kashmir, news agency PTI reported. After taking stock, he said in order to ensure a peaceful pilgrimage, efforts will be underway to detect any "suspicious vehicle or movement" with the help of technology. The 43-day-long pilgrimage to the 3,880-meter-high cave shrine of Amarnath will start on June 30 from the twin routes of 48km Nunwan in south Kashmir's Pahalgam and 14km shorter Baltal in central Kashmir's Ganderbal.

After chairing a meeting on the security arrangement, Singh, as quoted by PTI, said, "A meeting with the Ramban district administration took place with focus on Amarnath Yatra. Since Ramban is the highway town and all the pilgrims are going to pass through the district (along Jammu-Srinagar national highway), the preparedness and arrangements were discussed in detail.”

Expressing satisfaction over the arrangements, the minister said the district administration has made pre-emptive preparations to ensure a peaceful yatra.

"As far as security arrangements are concerned, technology is being put in place to timely detect any suspicious vehicle or movement,” he added.

Singh further said that latest technology like RFIDs, made mandatory this year, will help in real-time monitoring of pilgrims by tracking them enroute to the shrine.

Talking about the ongoing work on the four-laning of the highway and the recent landslides, Singh said that a dash board must be prepared for the pilgrims for real-time information on weather forecasts and traffic.

He also said that social media should be used for updating pilgrims so that they can plan their journey accordingly.

"After a long time, the yatra is taking place for such a long duration and heavy footfall of pilgrims is expected during the yatra,” he said.

Deputy Commissioner of Ramban Mussarat Islam said that 33 langars (community kitchens) from Nashri to Lamber (Banihal) have been constructed with a capacity to serve 30,000 people.

Senior Superintendent of Police, Ramban, Mohita Sharma said security arrangements are also being put in place with installation of CCTVs, deployment of CRPF and ITBP at important locations.