The Amarnath yatra is being held for decades now but this year, it was held on the modern lines as the administration, made it a point to ensure effective and need-based use of technology for making the pilgrimage more secure and organized, such as the service of RFID tags as well as a dedicated mobile application which the yatris had installed for regular updates along the route. The overall services provided to the yatris by the administration have been unparalleled, especially the healthcare arrangements that were put in place along the route.
It has been made possible due to the robust healthcare services by the concerned department that we have had a less number of people dying or having complications due after reaching the high altitude, because, whatever was needed to treat such people, was already made available. Even the DRDO set up 2 50-bedded hospitals at the base camps with all the necessary facilities—something that has happened for the first time in the history of the Amarnath yatra.
Coming to the security point of view, detailed arrangements were put in place by the authorities, and ahead of the commencement of the yatra, a detailed foolproof security plan was laid down after back to back security review, and the officers on the ground were repeatedly directed to ensure the strict adherence to the same to ensure safe passage for the yatris. While there was no major interruption in the yatra, the incident of cloud burst, however, was unfortunate as it took the lives of over a dozen of yatris, but, there as well, the security forces, especially police, army, and personnel of SDRF did a commendable job by ensuring timely evacuation and then working to make sure that the yatra resumes after a gap of just a few days.
In the end, what Kashmir stands for—peace, prosperity, and communal harmony—has got a new lease of life, and it has been stamped again that Kashmiris, including the culture of the people living here, always show hospitality to the guests who come here as tourists or pilgrims. They are respected, and they are facilitated at every step. The world-famous composite culture of Kashmir has got its foundations in brotherhood, fraternity, love, and peace: that’s what the peaceful and terror-free culmination of the Annual Amarnath yatra has projected to the world. Indeed a moment of pride, joy, and accomplishment for an age-old Valley’s composite culture.
