STATE TIMES NEWS
JAMMU: Jammu and Kashmir Director General of Police (DGP) Dilbag Singh directed officers on Wednesday to beef up the security arrangements and keep a vigil on suspicious elements along the Jammu-Srinagar national highway.
Singh passed the directions during his visit to the Amarnath Yatra camps along the highway, ahead of the upcoming pilgrimage to the 3,880-metre-high holy cave shrine of Amarnath in the south Kashmir Himalayas.
The 43-day-long yatra is scheduled to start on June 30 from the twin routes — the traditional 48-km Nunwan route in south Kashmir’s Pahalgam and the 14-km short Baltal route in central Kashmir’s Ganderbal — after a gap of two years due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The police chief visited the yatra transit camps at Mir Bazaar, Walnut Factory and Lamber in Qazigund district of south Kashmir and Ramban district of the Jammu region and took stock of the security arrangements put in place for the pilgrims, according to a police spokesperson.
He said the DGP reviewed the security arrangements at the Navyug tunnel, connecting Qazigund and Banihal towns, and sought reports from the security deployments regarding arrangements and area domination along the national highway.
Interacting with the officers at different places, Singh directed for beefing up the security arrangements to ensure a smooth conduct of the annual pilgrimage.
He also directed the officers to further augment the security arrangements and keep a strict vigil on suspicious elements and movement along the highway and areas surrounding the yatra transit camps.
The DGP emphasised on increased coordination and communication among the forces for a quick response to the requirements for the security and assistance of the pilgrims, the police spokesperson said.
Singh said the security grid needs to be strengthened and all important locations along the yatra route should be kept under round-the-clock surveillance.
He said all important places, including the “langars” (community kitchens) and parking lots, should be brought under the security cover and stressed on sharing of inputs among the agencies for preventive measures.
The DGP also directed for area domination and joint patrolling along the highway.
He discussed the traffic management on the highway, the only all-weather road linking Kashmir with the rest of the country, with the officers.
