Tight cover for Amarnath Yatra, Centre OKs 581 CAPF companies

NEW DELHI: Centre has approved the deployment of 581 companies of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF), comprising roughly 58,000 personnel, for securing the Amarnath Yatra , beginning on July 3.

The pilgrimage is the first major crowd-attracting event to be organised in Jammu & Kashmir since Pahalgam attack. Both Pahalgam and Amarnath are in Anantnag district. In fact, Pahalgam falls on Amarnath Yatra route.

The 581 CAPF companies include 156 companies already stationed in J&K. An additional 425 companies are being sent to the UT, which include 128 CRPF companies, 130 from BSF, 45 from CISF, 55 from ITBP and 67 from SSB. These additional deployments are to be made available in the next few days.

The Amarnath Yatra will begin on July 3 and end on Aug 9. However, most of the yatris are expected to visit the cave shrine in the first 15-20 days of the pilgrimage, before the ice shivling melts.