CRPF conducts sanitisation operation around Jammu base camp of Amarnath Yatra

Jammu, June 18: The CRPF on Wednesday carried out an anti-sabotage and sanitisation operation in and around the Bhagwati Nagar Amarnath Yatra base camp here to ensure the safety and security of pilgrims, officials said.

The 32-day pilgrimage will commence on July 3 from the twin tracks — the traditional 48-km Nunwan-Pahalgam route in Anantnag and the 14-km shorter but steeper Baltal route in Ganderbal — on July 3. A day earlier, the first batch of pilgrims will leave Jammu's Bhagwati Nagar base camp and Ram Mandir for the valley.

The shrine houses the naturally formed ice Shivlingam. Over 5.10 lakh pilgrims paid their obeisance at the 3,880-metre shrine last year.

Assisted by sniffer dogs, metal detectors and surveillance equipment, Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) units conducted an extensive sanitisation exercise in the parking area and on the roads leading to the base camp, the officials said.

The sanitisation was also carried out on the banks of River Tawi adjacent to the base camp and in various other buildings, they said.

The security wing of the Jammu and Kashmir Police has taken charge of the Bhagwati Nagar base camp for the annual Amarnath Yatra, while the CRPF is managing the security around the base camp.

The Bhagwati Nagar Yatri Niwas in Jammu serves as the primary base camp for pilgrims from across the country before they proceed to the 3,880-metre holy cave shrine of Amarnath in the majestic Himalayas of south Kashmir.

CRPF Director General (DG) Gyanendra Pratap Singh and Jammu and Kashmir Director General of Police (DGP) Nalin Prabhat visited the Bhagwati Nagar base camp and chaired high-level security review meetings ahead of the annual Amarnath Yatra.