Amarnath yatra: Sticky bombs, drone attacks new security challenges

Amid higher threat perception to Amarnath pilgrims this year, security agencies are fine tuning the final security arrangements for the annual pilgrimage which is set to commence from Thursday.

“There are general inputs about terrorists targeting the yatra every year, but this time, there are more such inputs,” a senior security officer told DH.

“After last month’s attacks on members of minority community, terror handlers across the border are desperate to target the yatra for achieving two goals. One they want to disrupt the yatra and second they want backlash against Kashmiris outside in case any untoward incident happens,” he revealed.

The officer said threat of sticky bombs and drone attacks are some of the new challenges for security forces this year.

The yatra to the holy cave shrine in south Kashmir Himalayas will start on June 30 and will culminate, as per the tradition, on the day of Raksha Bandhan, on August 11. Pertinently, the number of security personnel deployed for pilgrimage this year is four times more than the previous years.

Not only have authorities made a huge deployment of security forces, to secure twin yatra routes of Pahalgam and Sonamarg, but drone surveillance and RFID chips are also part of the three-tier security arrangements for the pilgrims this year.

On July 10, 2017, seven people were killed and 11 others injured when militants attacked a bus carrying Amarnath yatris in Botengo on the Srinagar-Jammu national highway.

On May 23, The Resistance Front (TRF), believed to be the frontal organisation of Pakistan-based Lashker-e-Toiba outfit, had warned to attack those Amarnath pilgrims, who they said would be used for demographic and political gains by the BJP government.

The annual yatra was cancelled in 2020 as well as 2021 due to Covid-19 pandemic and only symbolic ‘Chhari Mubarak’ was taken to the cave shrine by the Mahant Deependera Giri Ji and the Sadhus. In 2019, it was cut short following intelligence inputs of terror threats ahead of the Centre scrapping Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir.

This time a record number of six to eight lakh yatries are expected to pay obeisance at the 3,880-metre-high holy cave shrine.

Meanwhile, Divisional Commissioner Kashmir, P K Pole on Tuesday said that Amarnath Yatra is not a mere pilgrimage but a major economic push to J&K’s economy as the government expects Rs 2,000 to Rs 3,000 crore revenue from six to eight lakh pilgrims.

“This year the administration expects six to eight lakh pilgrims. Each pilgrim stays in Kashmir for a week and spends at least Rs 35,000. They visit other tourist destinations of Kashmir as well,” he said, adding that the administration expects Rs 2,000 to Rs 3,000 crore income, which will give a boost to J&K's economy.