Amarnath Yatra 2023: J&K Administration, Police Hold Mock Drills; LG Reviews Preparedness

SRINAGAR: The Administration and Police in Jammu and Kashmir carried out a Mock Drill for assessment of the overall readiness, safety, traffic and communication plans for the 2-month-long Amarnath pilgrimage that’s starting soon.

The annual Amarnath Yatra, comprising 62 days, will commence on 1st July 2023 and end on 31st August 2023.

Reports said a mock drill ahead of Amarnath Yatra was jointly conducted by the J&K Administration and the Police. A Yatra convoy was sent off by the officials under security and after proper checking of all other arrangements.

Lieutenant Governor of J&K, Manoj Sinha, also held a high-level meeting with the senior officials of Police and Civil Administrations, where traffic management was reviewed and a total mobility plan mapped out for the Amarnath Yatra. The LG directed officials to do Zone-wise planning for traffic on the National Highway-44, by working in collaboration with concerned departments, District Administrations, Senior Superintendents of Police (SSPs) and Traffic Police to ensure the smooth movement of traffic, better parking and pedestrian operations. Time slots are to be fixed for the movement of convoys, livestock, essential items and horticulture produce carrying vehicles. LG Sinha directed the officials for strict enforcement of Traffic Advisories, Schedules and cutoff timings.

Earlier also a Mock Drill was conducted by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) and District Disaster Management Authorities (DDMA) along with the concerned Govt departments and private agencies starting from the Baltal axis, in order to deal with any situation during the bi-month Amarnath pilgrimage.

Participants were trained by NDMA experts on key aspects of disaster management like the formation of Incident Response Teams, coordination among the many participating agencies, evacuation in case of disaster, testing for medical preparedness and counseling for trauma.

More men and machinery are being sought to be deployed by Traffic Police, National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), Border Roads Organisation (BRO) and other agencies to respond to events in real-time and to mitigate breakdown effects.

To ensure effective traffic, transit and travel demand management, the LG instructed the officials of the Traffic Police to use Integrated Command and Control Centres. He also directed the Divisional Commissioners and Additional Director Generals of Police (ADGPs) to supervise the overall traffic management in their divisions.

Utilising the Mughal Road, alternate routes, public utilities along Mughal Road and traffic management at Pahalgam and Sonamarg were also discussed in the meeting.

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