Civilian vehicles halted, frisked in name of Yatra’s security

Srinagar, July 01, 2019 (PPI-OT): In occupied Kashmir, intense measures have been put in place in the name of security for the Amarnath Yatra especially in Islamabad and Ganderbal districts. The 45-day pilgrimage begun Sunday after the first batch of yatris left for the Amarnath cave. Right from Gasipora, the diversion towards Pahalgam in Islamabad to Manigam, the Yatra base camp in Ganderbal, the entire highway is witnessing presence of y thousands of Indian forces’ personnel.

Every 500 metres in south Kashmir, a naka or bunker has been established where forces, including police and Central Reserve Police Force in dozens, check and frisk civilian vehicles. A CRPF trooper on duty at Awantipora said that many new bunkers and checkpoints had been established to frisk the private vehicles.

At every such bunker, he said, CRPF personnel accompanied by a few policemen have been deployed to frisk the vehicles coming from the link roads and diversions towards the highway. The largest of these nakas have been established at Gasipora, where the traffic coming from Batengoo village in Islamabad is halted and frisked by dozens of men in uniform. Dozens of forces personnel are stationed on either end of the road from Gasipora towards Baltal base camp.

On the highway, all link-roads have been barricaded from Gasipora to Pampore. At places like Khudwani, Khanabal, Batengoo, Mirbazar, and Lethpora connecting with the highway, the forces halt the traffic and thoroughly frisk the vehicles. Another CRPF trooper who was stationed at Khudwani said all the link roads will remain closed during the Yatra movement. “We have received orders from the higher-ups to close the link roads during the movement of Yatra vehicles,” he said.

In Ganderbal, high resolution CCTV cameras have been installed in large numbers at regular stops, particularly in the volatile areas, to record the vehicular movement on the highway. Civilian traffic halts on the highway. For the some days, the traffic is halted multiple times a day for several minutes from both sides when a convoy of forces passes through. “We have been witnessing that vehicles are stopped at various places as fleet of forces’ vehicles pass. It is probably the sixth time our vehicle has been stopped on way from Pampore to Islamabad,” said Ghulam Nabi, a government employee.

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