Amid tight security, the first batch of the Amarnath Yatra was flagged off from Jammu’s base camp in Bhagwant Nagar on Tuesday morning.
Here are few things to know about Amarnath Yatra 2018:
- The first batch of pilgrims wad flagged of from the Bhagwati Nagar camp in Jammu at 4.45 am on Wednesday and they will start their journey to the cave shrine from Baltal and Pahalgam routes on Thursday. Officials said a total of 1,904 pilgrims including 330 women and 30 children were part of this batch.
- The Yatra was flagged off by BVR Subramanyam, Chief Secretary, Jammu and Kashmir and BB Vyas and Vijay Kumar, advisors to Jammu and Kashmir Governor Narinder Nath Vohra.Read also: 5 shocking Environmental facts you didn’t know about Shri Amarnath yatra
- Vehicles tagged with electromagnetic chips using RFID (radio frequency identification) and they will be monitored at a control room, bike and bullet-proof SUV police convoys and scores of bullet-proof bunkers have been deployed as part of the “biggest-ever” security blanket thrown to secure pilgrims undertaking the Amarnath Yatra that begins in Jammu and Kashmir from Thursday.
- Forces have deployed a huge assortment of CCTV cameras and drones, assisted by mounted Army columns, to ensure that the yatra route is not breached by terrorists and in case of a possible attack reinforcements reach as fast as possible.Â
- The RFID tagging of vehicles concept has been introduced for the first time after taking a lesson from last year’s militant attack on a civil vehicle in Anantnag district that left eight pilgrims dead and several injured.
- Over two lakh pilgrims have registered for the annual pilgrimage to the 3,880 metre high cave shrine of Amarnath in south Kashmir Himalayas till now. A posse of over 40,000 armed CRPF and state police personnel have virtually dotted the yatra routes from Jammu — via Pahalgam and Baltal — with their overwhelming presence in armoured vehicles.
- Forces have deployed a huge assortment of CCTV cameras and drones, assisted by mounted Army columns, to ensure that the yatra route is not breached by terrorists and in case of a possible attack reinforcements reach as fast as possible.
- Special contingents of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and Jammu and Kashmir state rescue and relief squads have been placed at vital locations all along the yatra route to respond to any natural or man-made calamity.
- Considering the carrying capacity of the existing tracks and other available infrastructure in the pilgrimage area, Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board (SASB) has decided to allow 7, 500 pilgrims on each route daily. These are the traditional 36-km route from Pahalgam and the shortest 12-km route from Baltal. This will exclude pilgrims travelling by helicopter.Read also:
- The Central Reserve Police Force also launched bike-borne quick reaction teams (QRTs) on that will not only respond to any attack or sabotage incident on the yatra route but also double up as an ambulance to rescue unwell pilgrims, security personnel or locals
They yatra will conclude on 26 August on the day of Rakshabandhan.
[With inputs from online reports]
