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Strategy framed to ensure incident-free Amarnath

KT NEWS SERVICE. Dated: 6/25/2017 12:31:41 PM

JAMMU, June 24: The security forces have formulated a strategy on the operational and administrative aspects to ensure an incident-free Amarnath yatra which is scheduled to commence in Jammu and Kashmir from June 28.
A Core Group Security meeting was held at Nagrota today to review and coordinate the security arrangements for the annual pilgrimage, a defence spokesman said.
The meeting was co-chaired by the General Officer Commanding, White Knight Corps, Lt Gen. A K Sharma, and state Director General of Police S P Vaid. It was attended by senior commanders of the Army and civilian dignitaries from the Jammu region, said the spokesman.
“A joint strategy on the operational and administrative arrangements was chalked out by all the agencies to ensure peace and stability in the region and an incident-free yatra,” he added.
The intelligence updates were discussed in detail to assess any security threat to the yatra, said the spokesman.
“All the stakeholders have been advised to sensitise everyone on the ground to avoid any untoward incident,” he added.
Lt Gen. Sharma said the Army personnel deployed south of Pir Panjal have been pro-actively involved with the civil administration to ensure peace and social harmony in the region.
DGP Vaid appreciated the “high-level of synergy” shown by all the agencies during operations in the recent past.
The first batch of Amarnath pilgrims is scheduled to depart from the Jammu base camp on June 28 under tight security.
All arrangements have been made by the Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board (SASB) and the state government for the smooth conduct of the 40-day pilgrimage.
KTNS NEW DELHI ADDS:
In its efforts to improve preparedness and response mechanisms in the event of a disaster during the upcoming Amarnath Yatra, National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) conducted mock exercises simulating various disaster scenarios, along the Amarnath Yatra route today.
The annual Amarnath Yatra to the cave shrine in South Kashmir will begin from June 29 and continue till August 7.
Simultaneous exercises have been conducted at critical areas along the Baltal and the Pahalgam-Chandanwari routes by NDMA experts Maj. Gen. V.K. Datta (Retd.) and Maj. Gen. (Dr.) V.K. Naik (Retd.). They trained the participants on key aspects of disaster management such as the formation of Incident Response Teams, coordination among various participating agencies, evacuation, medical preparedness and trauma counselling.
The exercises began with Co-ordination Conferences on Day 1 (June 21) followed by Table-top Exercises on Day 2 (June 22). Senior officials from all stakeholder departments such as the Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board (SASB), the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), the Rashtriya Rifles, the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Army, police, health, Civil Defense, transport, fire and other emergency services attended these preparatory meetings and participated in the mock exercises.
A debriefing exercise was conducted afterwards wherein the participants discussed the shortcomings and ways to address them.
NDMA has so far conducted more than 550 mock exercises across the country for various disaster situations with a State-level mock exercise on earthquake preparedness in Delhi on June 30, 2017 next on the list.