Amarnath (J-K): The nearly two-month-long
Amarnath Yatra saw a successful completion on Wednesday despite
heightened threats from militants and inclement weather.
Nearly four lakh pilgrims were assisted by and dog squads
and armed forces equipped with state-of-the-art gadgets in
providing multi-layered security during their arduous trekking
in hostile terrain to pay obeisance to the cave shrine of
Amarnath, located at a 3,880 metre-height in the Himalayas.
"There have been threats from militants, including
Lashkar-e-Taiba, to disrupt the Yatra. But we successfully
foiled all attempts of the militants to target the pilgrims,"
CRPF Deputy Inspector General (operations), South Kashmir,
Nalin Prabhat told a visiting group of journalists.
Multi-cordon security blanket is thrown along the yatra
route. While the Indian Army mans the heights to prevent any
infiltration from the mountains, BSF personnel dot the
trekking route. The safety of the camps put up for the
pilgrims for night halts is handled by the CRPF jawans.
"The idea is that even if terrorist breach one cordon,
they will be checkmated by one of the remaining two," BSF DIG
Rakesh Sharma said.
The conclusion of the Yatra was marked by a group of
devotees carrying the mace of Lord Shiva to the cave shrine.
The mace, popularly known as `Chhari Mubarak`, is carried
every year from its abode `Dashnami Akhara` in Srinagar to the
Amarnath shrine during the annual pilgrimage for special
prayers.
The conclusion of the Yatra also coincides with the
festival of `Rakshabandhan` being celebrated in many parts of
the country today.
J-K Governor and Chairman of Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board
N N Vohra attended the concluding prayers at the shrine.
After the prayers, the `Chhari Mubarak` started its
return journey and is expected to reach Pahalgam on August 7
where special prayers would be offered before it is taken back
to `Dashnami Akhara`, sources said.
Since the beginning of the yatra on June 15, nearly four
lakh pilgrims from across the country have made a journey to
the cave, which houses the naturally-formed ice Shivlingam.
Originally slated to start in the first week of June, the
yatra was delayed by 10 days this year owing to fresh snowfall
along the twin routes -- the shortest being the 16-km Baltal
and the 45-km traditional Pahalgam.
Amranath pilgrimages in the last few years have been
largely free of violence primarily due to the security blanket
thrown along the entire route with the help of dogs squad and
latest technology like unmanned aerial vehicle, a security
official said.
But last year, the Amarnath Yatra was engulfed in turmoil
with both Jammu as well as Kashmir regions holding rallies and
protests march over the controversial transfer of land
allotment to Amarnath shrine board.
The protests also had political colours with various
parties openly coming out either in support or against
allotment of over 40 hectares of land to the Board.
Meanwhile, the BSF DIG said it is not only easy to
penetrate the multi-layered security net thrown around the
base camps of the Yatra in Baltal and Nunwan, but it is not
possible given the unsuccessful attempts of the fidayeen.
The Nunwan base camp was set up in 2001 following the
terrorist attack in Pahalgam the previous year when at least
25 people, including 16 pilgrims were killed, and 60 others
injured.
"Such attacks give the militants instant global
publicity," Sharma said.
The Central paramilitary forces, which include about 100
women personnel who were air dashed from Ahmedabad just before
the pilgrimage started on June 15, always brave the cold every
year and begin clearing the trek from Chandanwari and Baltal
to the holy cave, long before the actual pilgrimage starts.
Removing the snow and the boulders to make the trail
negotiable is a mammoth task, to say the least, and yet it is
performed by the armed forces with great commitment.
In the base camp and along the Yatra routes, both CRPF
and BSF have put up a good number of medical camps with
qualified doctors offering treatment to, on an average, about
100 people every day.
Bureau Report
