NEW DELHI: In the aftermath of the terror attack in Pahalgam, the Union government has asked the top functionaries of the Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) security architecture to identify gap areas and work on a plan to fill them with permanent deployment of personnel drawing from the Army and Paramilitary forces, officials said on Wednesday.
The officials said, in a day or two a detailed fresh review of security arrangements would be undertaken ahead of the Amarnath Yatra, which is scheduled to commence on July 3 this year.
The Yatra now becomes very important for the government, as the route to Amarnath Shrine passes through Pahalgam.
Now a realignment of the deployment of forces in view of the yatra is also being worked out, they added.
A senior security official said, “It is a fact that presently no forces have been deployed in the immediate vicinity of the meadows of the Bisaran Valley, which is ringed by dense forests. The nearest is a unit of the 3rd battalion of the Rashtriya Rifles (RR) of the Army and a company of the 116th battalion of the CRPF, which are deployed outside the ring.”
Therefore, the officials said, it takes a good amount of time to reach the Bisaran Valley from their locations, which are as far as 10-11 km and it is only approachable on foot or on horseback, he said.
Now, the forces’ leadership has been asked to readjust the deployment of troops so that they can be based closer to the Bisaran Valley area and also secure the rear of the forests so that any terrorist movement is kept under check, the official said.
The final contours of a re-aligned security grid in the Kashmir Valley will be finalised over the next few days and this will definitely include better securing the Pahalgam area, another official said.
The Amarnath Yatra sees a huge civilian movement in the Kashmir valley and hence the deployment will see a change this time to ensure foolproof security for the pilgrims and the locals, he noted.