NEW DELHI: On Friday, HM Amit Shah stated that the aim of the PM Modi government is to make sure that visitors to Amarnath are comfortable, and he ordered officials to put in place necessary security measures along the whole pilgrimage route in J&K.The home minister made this statement while serving as the meeting’s chair and reviewing the state of the Amarnath pilgrimage’s planning with senior members of the federal government, the Army, and the Jammu and Kashmir government. On July 1, a 62-day yearly pilgrimage will begin to the 3,880-meter-high cave sanctuary of Amarnath in the south Kashmir Himalayas.During the meeting, the home minister said that the comfort and safety of Amarnath pilgrims is a top priority for the Narendra Modi government. According to a formal statement, he instructed officials to set up necessary security measures throughout the whole Amarnath pilgrimage route. In Jammu & Kashmir, there are two routes used by pilgrims: Baltal and Pahalgam. All pilgrims will receive RFID cards so that their current whereabouts can be tracked during the conference, and everyone will also receive Rs 5 lakh in insurance coverage. Each animal that carries pilgrims will have insurance coverage at Rs. 50,000. Shah emphasised the need for convenient transportation for pilgrims along the journey from the airport and train station to the base camp and gave the order to provide nighttime air service from Srinagar and Jammu.The home minister also asked for the availability of additional teams of doctors and mandated to ensure appropriate stock of oxygen cylinders and their refilling. He gave the order to make sure there were enough hospital beds and that ambulances and helicopters were available to respond to any medical emergencies. The Shah provided orders to prepare all required facilities for the pilgrims, including transportation, lodging, electricity, water, communication, and medical care.He gave the order to establish a better communication system along the routes of the pilgrimages and the deployment of equipment to quickly open roads in the event of a landslip. Additionally, plans will be prepared for a tent city, Wi-Fi hotspots, and adequate lighting along the routes. The statement added that religious and cultural programmes as well as online-live “Darshan of Baba Barfani,” live telecasts of the morning and evening “aarti” in the revered Amarnath cave, and other events would be held at the base camps. Among the top authorities present at the meeting were Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir Manoj Sinha, Union Home Secretary Lieutenant General Upendra Dwivedi, and Director of the Intelligence Bureau Tapan Deka.All parties involved in the trip were present during the meeting, according to sources, and all issues related to planning for it were discussed. The holy cave was visited by 3.45 lakh people a year ago, and this year that number may reach 5 lakh, according to reports.In order to avoid a repeat of last year’s flash flood, which claimed 16 lives close to the shrine, the National Disaster Response Force has reportedly started evaluating prime locations for setting up pilgrim camps while taking any potential unexpected natural disaster into consideration. The Indian Air Force is expected to have helicopters stationed in the hallowed cave’s higher reaches, conducting overhead sorties to watch for glacial activity and the formation of lakes that could cause flash floods downhill. According to the sources, this year’s exercise will be carried out prior to the start of the pilgrimage and continuously throughout the two-month yatra, unlike last year when such sorties were only conducted after the June flash floods.A crew with experience in remote sensing, satellite, hydrology, and disaster response may carry out the airborne surveys. As soon as a dangerous water buildup is discovered, they stressed, contingency measures would be taken all along the pilgrimage route, especially in the areas near to the cave shrine. Due to recent snowfall along the Baltal and Pahalgam pathways leading to the sacred cave, the Border Roads Organisation has been given the responsibility of clearing the snow by June 15.
