Srinagar:
The annual Amarnath Yatra has been officially flagged off from Jammu; thousands of pilgrims are reaching the base camps in Jammu, Pahalgam and Baltal for the darshan through snowbound and treacherous routes.
Additional companies of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and Jammu and Kashmir Police have been deployed along the entire yatra route for safety of the pilgrims.
Security arrangements for the smooth conduct of the yatra were finalised on Saturday at a high-level meeting of police, civil and paramilitary officers at Police Control Room in Srinagar.
Jammu and Kashmir Director General of Police K Rajendra Kumar, who chaired the meeting, sought reports from the officers representing various agencies on their preparations.
Joint control rooms have been established at different destinations on the twin routes that would help to maintain coordination among the agencies besides assessing the situation on daily basis, the police chief said.
Meanwhile, Governor NN Vohra yesterday reviewed the arrangements for the yatra, and undertook a day-long tour to inspect the pilgrimage route.
The spokesman said Sheshnag and Holy Cave camp sites still have "very large accumulation of frozen snow" and is posing a serious impediment in pitching tents, toilets and other facilities.
"In this context, the Governor directed the camp directors of Sheshnag and Holy Cave to put in renewed efforts to remove the accumulated snows from the camp areas," the spokesman said.
3.5 lakh pilgrims have already been registered for the yatra which will conclude on August 2 on Raksha Bhandan.
Geared up to ensure incident-free and peaceful pilgrimage, CRPF has activated its security set-up and deployed 57 companies for security of the yatra.