Anti-Drone Systems, Oxygen Booths, Air Ambulances: J&K Admin Gears Up For Amarnath Yatra

The annual pilgrimage was stalled in the year 2019 after the government cited threats of militant attacks on the Yatra which has time and again been targeted by militants.

The Amarnath Yatra is all set to begin from June 1 and will go on till August 11, with at least a lakh pilgrims from across the country expected to attend the pilgrimage this year, Nitishwar Kumar CEO of the Amarnath Shrine Board has said.

The annual pilgrimage was stalled in the year 2019 after the government cited threats of militant attacks on the Yatra which has time and again been targeted by militants. In the year 2000, a total of 25 people were shot dead in a militant attack that took place at the Pahalgam base camp. This included 17 pilgrims too. Again, in July 2017, seven Yatris were shot dead after a bus they were traveling in was fired upon at Anantnag. Many CRPF companies, as per sources, are being rushed to beef up the security ahead of the pilgrimage.

Besides additional forces at Kashmir, there are reports that Yatra busses will be escorted by the forces all the way from the Punjab border. The government is also planning to install anti-drone systems to foil any attacks given repeated incidents in border areas where weapons including grenades were delivered using drones.

Many more facilities have been made available for the Yatris and this also includes installing Radio Frequency Identification tags for pilgrims as well as ponies that shall take them towards the holy cave.

The insurance cover of Rs 3 lakh already in place has been increased to Rs 5 lakh. The ponies alongside pilgrims have also been covered in insurance cover of Rs 50,000 with the coverage period for handlers increased to 1 year from the previous period of three months. Over 5,000 ponies have been registered for the services to pilgrims.

“The newly-introduced RFID tags will ensure the safety of people. The tags will be helpful in tracking the pilgrims, providing them information on the nearest sanitation facility and weather updates. It will be easier for the devotee to communicate with us and for us to communicate with them and track where they are in the stretch of the Yatra,” said Kumar.

Since Yatra has been stalled from 2020, there is an expectation that strength this year will be doubled as compared to previous years. “We are expecting nearly 8 lakh devotees,” he said.

The Yatra base camp is at two places Baltal which falls on the northern side and goes through the Sonamarg route and Nunwan which is the initial step just below Pahalgam in South Kashmir. At least, 20,000 pilgrims pay their respects to the iced Shiva Lingam placed in the cave on daily basis with 10,000 traveling from each route.

Along with security arrangements, the government has also been taking precautions for natural calamities by doing mock drills conducted by National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF). There are also mountain rescue teams and quick response teams along with the air emergency services.

The lower age limit for the pilgrims shall be 13 years and the maximum should be 75 years. Pilgrims will need to have a compulsory health certificate to register and registration can be done through banks, an online portal, and Shrine Board’s mobile app which is available on the Google play store.

“It is for the first time the registration has been started through the app. The registration can be done through 550 branches of Punjab National bank, J&K Bank, Yes Bank and this year State Bank of India has also joined with more than 100 branches,” Kumar said adding that registrations are going on in full swing and that two-thirds of total registered till now have been done through online mode.

While the government has taken care of all the social distancing and sanitizing measures, there is also going to be random covid testing. Sources say the government is also planning to install oxygen booths through the route for pilgrims to cater to any emergency.

News is originally taken from: https://indiaaheadnews.com/india/anti-drone-systems-oxygen-booths-air-ambulances-jk-admin-gears-up-for-amarnath-yatra-131755/

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