SRINAGAR:
A day ahead of the start of Amarnath Yatra, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh today reviewed the arrangements made for the annual pilgrimage to the 3,880-metre high holy cave shrine in south Kashmir Himalayas.
Soon after arriving here on a two-day visit, Singh chaired a high level meeting of security and civil administration at Raj Bhavan, officials said.
The meeting was attended by Governor N N Vohra, who is also the chairman of the Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board (SASB).
Others who attended the meeting included State Chief Secretary Iqbal Khanday, Director General of State Police K Rajendra Kumar, DG CRPF Prakash Mishra, DG BSF D K Pathak, GOC 15 Corps Lt Gen Subrata Saha and IG CID A G Mir.
During the review of the overall security situation, the focus was on the 59-day yatra which will commence from both the routes – traditional 45-km Pahalgam route in Anantnag district and shorter 16-km Baltal in Ganderbal district, the officials said.
The Home Minister is scheduled to pay obeisance at the holy cave tomorrow morning. Singh along with Vohra is likely to attend the ‘Pratham Puja’ at the cave, marking the commencement of the yatra.
Although there are no specific intelligence inputs about any militant threat to the yatra, the State and the Central Governments have been monitoring the situation regularly to ensure peaceful conduct of the pilgrimage. (AGENCIES)