LG visits Baltal, DGP says adequate security in place

The Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Monday visited the Baltal base camp for the annual Amarnath yatra to take stock of the arrangements there.

“Interacted with Shri Amarnathji pilgrims, officers, ponywalas at Baltal base camp earlier today. Enquired about the facilities, quality of services, well-being of Yatris, volunteers and carried out on-site inspection of Control Rooms,” the office of the LG tweeted.

The annual yatra began on June 30 and will culminate on August 11, coinciding with Raksha Bandhan.
More than 50,000 pilgrims have paid obeisance at the Holy cave shrine so far.

Meanwhile, describing sticky bombs smuggled from Pakistan as a grave threat , Jammu and Kashmir Director General of Police Dilbag Singh on Monday said adequate security arrangements are in place for the Amarnath Yatra which is going on smoothly.

He also said around 150 terrorists are present on the launch pads across the border but security forces are fully alert and have thwarted their attempts to sneak into the valley.

All security related measures are in place for the Amarnath pilgrimage, the police chief told reporters at Mahore in Reasi district, where he had gone to appreciate the villagers for helping police arrest two wanted Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorists.

There is no connection between the (Amarnath) yatra and the arrest (of the duo). It is a big success as Shah was involved in a series of sticky bomb explosions in Rajouri, Singh said.

He said Shah was part of efforts being made by LeT handlers in Pakistan to revive terrorism in Rajouri, Poonch, Kishtwar, Doda, Ramban and Reasi and other parts of Jammu region.

The DGP said Jammu police scuttled all their attempts to revive terrorism by busting their modules in Udhampur, Doda-Kishtwar belt and Poonch-Rajouri and since Shah is heading one such module, his questioning will solve many more cases.

His arrest is a big achievement and people are equal partners in this success. The people overpowering the terrorists with bare hands is a good beginning, he said.

The DGP said police had been chasing Shah ever since his name came up during investigation of the recent blasts in Rajouri.

They were not getting a hideout and were moving aimlessly and ended up being overpowered by people. The action of the villagers is worth praise and so I have personally come to thank them, he said.

On the number of terrorists on launch pads in Pakistan, he said the numbers hover around 150 and there were attempts by them to infiltrate into this side but they were tackled and neutralized either on the border or in the hinterland.

The anti-terrorist operations will continue with border security grid being further beefed up with the recruitment of 200 Special Police Officers in recently created border battalions, Singh said.

The J&K Police chief said the attempts to foment trouble in the Union territory from across the border have not lowered and we are planning counter-measures accordingly .

He said sticky bombs pose a grave threat but the police and other security agencies are alert to foil all conspiracies.

The terrorists were able to set off sticky bombs at vegetable market in Udhampur (in March) and at two places in Rajouri (in April-May). Police have recovered many such bombs and IEDs airdropped through drones (from Pakistan) before they could be used to hit a target, he said.

Asked about the investigation in the Katra bus fire incident that left four passengers dead and 20 others injured in May, he said the investigation into the cause of the fire is on as we are yet to reach a conclusion .

Singh said the security deployments have been made for Amarnath Yatra and we are taking all necessary arrangements (to foil any attempt by terrorists to target the yatra with sticky bombs) .

Asked whether the villagers who overpowered the terrorists will be given a job in police, he said there is a system in place for the recruitment in police and other security forces.

There are many people linked with us like Village Defence Committee members and Dhok Defence Committee members who are doing great job in anti-terror operations, he said.

Meanwhile, Pilgrims visiting the Amarnath can now give their feedback to the shrine authorities for improving facilities.

The Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB) on Monday launched pilgrim feedback services (PFS), officials said.
People can rate their experience on overall yatra facilities, accommodation, sanitation and food quality in the camps, besides giving suggestions and comments.

The system is taking the feedback directly through SMS from all the people who have undertaken the yatra, an official told.

Over 55000 pilgrims had offered prayers on the fifth day of the pilgrimage at the shrine, located at a height of 3880-meter and housing the naturally formed ice-shivling.

The official said that feedback is being used for continuous upgrading of facilities.

The Jammu Municipal Corporation has also employed young research assistants for two months to get feedback from pilgrims in Jammu city.

The annual 43-day yatra commenced from the twin base camps — traditional 48-km Nunwan-Pahalgam in south Kashmir’s Anantnag and 14-km shorter Baltal in central Kashmir’s Ganderbal — on June 30.

A total of 39,269 pilgrims have left the Bhagwati Nagar base camp for the Valley since June 29, the day the first batch of pilgrims was flagged off by Lt Governor Manoj Sinha. The yatra is scheduled to end on August 11 on Raksha Bandhan.