In a bid to prevent the re-occurrence of stampede that killed 12 pilgrims and injured 16 others on the first day of this year at Vaishno Devi shrine, the authorities have this time decided to deploy Quick Response Teams (QRTs) and a multi-tier security grid comprising police, CRPF and other paramilitary forces on the coming New Year.

Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the shrine board Anshul Garg on Friday held a meeting to assess security and operational preparedness of the shrine area for hassle-free pilgrimage on the New Year when a large number of pilgrims from various parts of the country and abroad are expected to visit the cave shrine.

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The meeting was attended by Mohammad Suleman Choudhary, DIG, Udhampur-Reasi Police Range, Navneet Singh, Additional Chief Executive Officer, Shrine Board, Amit Gupta SSP Reasi, Vishwajeet Singh, Dy Chief Executive Officer, Shrine Board, Commandant CRPF, SDPO Katra, Dy SP Bhawan and officers from Army, Intelligence Bureau, CID and other intelligence agencies.

The CEO underscored that the Yatra to the holy shrine has tremendously increased as compared to the previous two years which has been possible due to the all round efforts of all the stakeholders. He said that we expect a good turnout of pilgrims during upcoming winter vacations and onset of New Year–2023 and laid emphasis for operational preparedness with security of the visiting pilgrims.

He urged for simulating exercises jointly to deal with crowd management well for effective Yatra management on ground on the eve of New Year. To review each and every security aspect of the Shrine area enroute besides, safety and security of pilgrims expected to visit in huge volume on New Year, he emphasized to conduct joint drills well in advance and plug any gaps.

A slew of directives were issued to the Sub-Divisional Magistrate, Bhawan, for physical and systematic improvements wherever required at Bhawan and allied areas after critical examination.

The Chief Executive Officer stressed upon all the stakeholders for action on diverse fronts for hassle free pilgrimage on New Year including issuance and verification of RFID cards, effective crowd management, augmentation of holding areas, working out plans for decongestion of the entire track, particularly the Bhawan area, separation of entry, exit routes at Bhawan and all time surveillance through dedicated CCTV dedicated network of over 500 cameras.

In the meeting, DIG highlighted major challenges for the deployed security forces in coming days for managing the expected influx of pilgrims on New Year. He briefed that additional forces as per request shall be deployed in and around Katra and on the track en-route Bhawan in coordination with other security agencies to ensure fool-proof security and effective Yatra management.