Elaborate security check conducted in Jammu zone for upcoming Amarnath Yatra

Udhampur/Jammu, Jun 18 (PTI) With the annual Amarnath yatra less than a fortnight away, authorities Saturday checked the security and other arrangements along the 270-km Jammu-Srinagar national highway for the pilgrims, officials said.

Jammu Divisional Commissioner Ramesh Kumar and Additional Director General of Police Mukesh Singh led a convoy of 20 security vehicles this morning from Jammu to Banihal -- the gateway to Kashmir -- as part of what official described was a "trial run" for the yatra's security.

The officials said all arrangements including security made by the Jammu, Udhampur and Ramban districts for the pilgrimage were checked personally by the two senior civil and police officers heading Jammu division.

The 43-day-long yatra to the cave shrine of Amarnath, at an altitude of 3,880 meters, is scheduled to start on June 30 from the twin routes - the traditional 48-km Nunwan in south Kashmir’s Pahalgam and the shorter 14-km Baltal in central Kashmir’s Ganderbal.

The first batch of the pilgrims will leave for the yatra a day ahead from Bhagwati Nagar base camp Jammu and pass through Jammu-Srinagar national highway before reaching their respective base camps in Pahalgam and Baltal.

The officials said a contingency plan has already been chalked out to ensure accommodation of pilgrims in transit camps in case of inclement weather forces closure of the highway besides the measures for early opening of the highway by clearing landslide debris.