By Farooq Wani
The annual pilgrimage to the holy Amarnath cave shrine in the Union Territory (UT) of J&K attracts lakhs of devotees, and under the current dispensation, which has been administering this UT for the last five years has witnessed year-on-year record participation. It therefore isn’t at all surprising that this year too, a new record is in the offing. In the last 5 weeks alone, over 4.86 lakh pilgrims have visited the shrine in the last 37 days and it is expected that the five-lakh pilgrim mark is likely to be breached by the end of the first week of August.
While religious fervour that motivates devotees to undertake this physically exacting pilgrimage that entails ascending to a height of 3,888 meters above sea level in the Kashmir Himalayas in such large numbers is indeed remarkable, two things make the Amarnath Yatra so popular. One, excellent administrative arrangements made by the local administration, and two, the effective role that both the army and paramilitaries play in securing the pilgrimage route to ensure their safety against terrorist threats.
The overall responsibility for ensuring the security of Amarnath pilgrims is that of Srinagar based Indian army’s 15 Corps, which is also referred to as the ‘Chinar Corps’. This year’s Shri Amarnath Yatra which commenced on June 29 will continue for 52 days and conclude on August 19. Pilgrims use either the 48-kilometer-long Nunwan-Pahalgam route via Anantnag, or the 14-kilometer-long Baltal route via Ganderbal, to reach the shrine to pay homage. Needless to say, ensuring effective security for such a prolonged period is in itself an extremely challenging task, and the credit for this rightly goes to the seamlessly coordinated efforts of the rank and file of 15 Corps, ably assisted by paramilitary and central armed and JK police forces.
Since abrogation of Article 370 on August 5, 2019, J&K has experienced relative peace and stability. While the last two months witnessed a spike in terror strikes in the Jammu region, the army and central reserve armed forces (CAPF) like BSF and CRPF as well as JK police have through their concerted efforts been able to prevent the situation from escalating. With additional induction of forces in this area, it’s a matter of time before Pakistan sponsored terrorists operating in this area are either neutralised or apprehended.
Statistics indicate that despite the recent terrorist attacks, the number of tourists and pilgrims visiting J&K is at an all-time high. In 2022, 3.04 lakh devotees visited the Amarnath cave shrine and this number increased to 4.5 lakh pilgrims in 2023. This year, the footfall of pilgrims is expected to cross the five lakh mark. These figures clearly bring out the fact that tourists and pilgrims have full faith in the security forces as well as law enforcement agencies, and it would not be out of place that the warmth and affection displayed by locals in J&K makes visitors feel even more secure.
Through its people-friendly approach, the Army, CAPF and JK police have managed to win over the hearts and minds of the people. Creating a safe environment is at the core of their planning to deal with both natural and man-made crises that could arise along the mountainous routes from Jammu or Pahalgam. Security forces are deployed right from the various transit camps, base camps, as well as the route to the cave shrine itself. Local residents also play an assistive role in helping pilgrims on this arduous journey by foot or pony. Porters often carry the elderly and infirm on their backs to-and-from the shrine.
The army, CAPF and JK police remain at the forefront when it comes to safeguarding J&K from terrorism, civilian induced violence or turmoil. Operating in an extremely challenging environment, they ensure safety of civilians even at the cost of their own lives. While their formidable effort to ensure an incident-free Amarnath pilgrimage in adverse weather is a demanding responsibility, the army’s involvement goes much beyond physical support as they take pride in reaching out and helping their brother and sister citizens in need of assistance. For this, the security forces and CAPF cater for immediate response to potential medical emergencies during the Yatra. They do this by ensuring presence of first aid facilities and doctors on site as well as creating emergency control rooms and medical facilities to address emergencies that may arise.
Our men and women in uniform deserve a big salute for ensuring the safe conduct of Amarnath Yatra!
The author is Editor Brighter Kashmir, Author, TV commentator, political analyst and columnist.
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