Undeterred by the terror threats looming large over Amarnath Yatra this year, the first batch of 2,995 pilgrims embarked on the pilgrimage under ‘unprecedented’ security cover from Jammu Yatri Niwas in the wee hours of Wednesday.

The convoy of the pilgrims, singing praises of Lord Shiva, was flagged off by advisors to the Governor BB Vyas and K Vijay Kumar in the presence of Chief Secretary BVR Subrahmanyam, after performing traditional prayers here at the base camp.

Chairman of the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board Governor NN Vohra is scheduled to perform ‘pratham puja’ inside the holy cave shrine on Thursday.

Senior BJP leader Ram Madhav and J&K Assembly Speaker Nirmal Singh visited the cave shrine on Wednesday and offered prayers.

So far over 2.10 lakh pilgrims have registered themselves for the yatra this year. The Shrine Board authorities have also made elaborate arrangements for ‘spot’ registration to facilitate rush of pilgrims.

Quick Reaction Teams have been stationed across vantage locations along the yatra route to protect the pilgrims on the national highway and outside the base camp.

Sniffer dogs have also been stationed at the base camp to detect the presence of any explosive material in and around to prevent any possible terror strike.

The Amarnath Shrine Board authorities have thrown open both the traditional Pahalgam-Chandanwari route and Baltal route for pilgrims.

Before the first batch of pilgrims was flagged off, the entire route of the yatra was sanitised by the road opening parties of the CRPF and Indian Army patrolling along the 300-km long Jammu-Srinagar National Highway.

After flagging off the yatra, advisor BB Vyas said that coordinated efforts have been put in place by the concerned agencies to ensure smooth and safe conduct of the yatra.

“Amarnath Yatra is a very significant annual event. With the cooperation of public, security agencies and development agencies, we have put a scheme in place and are trying our best to address concerns of the yatris and ensure smooth flow of traffic,’’ advisor Vijay Kumar said.

Twenty-eight-year old ‘differently abled’ youth hailing from Madhya Pradesh, Ravinder, was part of the first batch. Speaking to The Pioneer Ravinder said, “I am visiting the holy cave shrine for the second time. I am not worried about security situation at all. Lord Shiva is there to protect us all.”

Ravinder was inflicted with polio when he was just five-year-old.

Ask him about any hardships along the arduous yatra track, he said, “I face no major issues during the yatra. I keep moving along the hill side to avoid getting trapped in the rush. I take regular breaks and take at least two days time to reach the holy cave shrine.”

“The scenic landscape, the icy peaks and the urge to perform darshan inside the holy cave motivates me. I want to come back again and again and join the pilgrims,” said Ravinder.

Another group of pilgrims from Aurangabad in Maharashtra told The Pioneer that they were upbeat and feeling safe in the custody of CRPF jawans.

Complimenting Shri Amarnath Shrine Board authorities for making elaborate arrangements Chandrabhan Madhav said, “There is no fear in our mind. Security forces are guarding every inch of the yatra route. They are our saviours.”

Commanding officer of CRPF, VK Pandey, incharge of the base camp security told reporters at the yatri niwas, “we have made elaborate security arrangements to ensure safety of pilgrims during the yatra period”.

He said we have beefed up security and wherever it is possible we are relying on electronic surveillance including Drone cameras’ to keep a hawk’s eye on the suspected movement of miscreants. “We have also introduced radio frequency tags to track down the movement of vehicles during the yatra period,” he said.

“We have also stationed a motorbike squad of CRPF jawans equipped with first aid facilities to handle any emergency during the yatra period,” Pandey said.

The State police have also set up special security check points in the city of temples to prevent any untoward incident during the yatra period. The security forces would be facing enormous challenge of securing 400-km long yatra route along the Jammu Srinagar National Highway and especially areas of South Kashmir to prevent any terror strike on the yatra,” he said.

Courtesy: The Pioneer, Thursday, 28 June 2018 | Mohit Kandhari | Jammu