Union Home Secretary, Director IB arrive in Srinagar for 2-day visit

Union Home Secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla and Intelligence Bureau Director Arvind Kumar arrived in Srinagar on Thursday for a 2-day visit and on Friday they will be reviewing the preparations for the annual Amarnath Yatra. Bhalla and Kumar arrived in Srinagar on Thursday afternoon and were straightaway driven to hotel Taj Vivanta located on Zabarwan hills.

Official sources told that later accompanied by Chief Secretary Arun Kumar Mehta, Director General of Police, Dilbag Singh, Special Director General of Police, CID RR Swain and IGP Kashmir, Vijay Kumar, the Home Secretary and IB Director visited Tulip Garden, Pari Mahal and Char Chinari in Dal Lake.

Sources said that on Friday, Bhalla will hold a meeting with DGP Dilbag Singh and other officials of the J&K administration to see that all necessary arrangements are in place before commencement of Amarnath Yatra on June 30.

They said a meeting is also scheduled to be held with the chiefs of the Central Reserve Police Force and the Border Security force, Army officials, J&K Police chief and other high officials of the Union Territory and the ministry to discuss the security and other important aspects related to the Amarnath Yatra.

“DGP will make a presentation on the security aspect during the meeting whereas the IB chief is likely to discuss the intelligence inputs gathered so far,” official sources said, adding that in his two-day visit to J&K, Bhalla will also discuss the security aspect with the senior Army officials.

It may be mentioned that Amarnath pilgrimage is commencing after two years of suspension owing to Covid pandemic in 2020 and 2021. The administration and police have been asked to make preparations for around eight lakh pilgrims for the pilgrimage to the holy cave shrine which will conclude on August 11.

The CRPF deploys a maximum number of the security forces during the Yatra and its DG Kuldiep Singh, along with senior officials, have already held a preliminary round of meetings last week with DGP Dilbag Singh and senior officials of the UT government. The entire preparation for the pilgrimage will also be reviewed by Union Home Minister Amit Shah before it begins on June 30.

Resuming the Amarnath pilgrimage is a challenging task as the Union Territory has witnessed several incidents of targeted killings in the last few months by terrorists following which the Ministry of Home Affairs asked security agencies operating in Jammu and Kashmir to enhance counter-terror operations.

However, online registration for Amarnath Yatra 2022 has started on April 11 and the Home Ministry has already sanctioned nearly 50 companies of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) for the purpose to provide security during the pilgrimage as J&K is expecting large number of pilgrims visiting the Amarnath cave shrine this year.

While online registration has already begun, the pilgrimage is scheduled to be held for 43 days between June 30 and August 11.