Srinagar, The threat of drones for the Amarnath pilgrimage is a major challenge for the security forces, so they are buying hardware to counter the drones and thwart terrorist designs. Sources in the Central Reserve Police Force acknowledged that there is a potential threat from drones on the Amarnath pilgrimage this year. They said they were preparing to thwart the threats.
As the Amarnath Yatra begins on June 30, two years later, the security forces will have to be equipped to ensure full security for the annual Yatra. Sources also said that security agencies are on high alert as drone strikes in terrorist areas are a new approach. The security grid has been asked to do everything possible to make the Holy Cave incident free.
Sources close to the security grid said anti-drone systems would be installed at the base camps at Baltal and Pahalgam up to the cave and at assembly sites.
Sources said there is a potential threat from Lashkar-e-Taiba and TRF and hence, security will be tightened by entering the Lakhanpur border.
Personal or public vehicles carrying pilgrims will be given RFID tags so that security agencies can locate them. He also hinted that anti-drone systems would be deployed at the main outposts of the yatra to thwart any threat of drone attacks.
Currently, the Indian Air Force and National Security Guard have drone detection systems and they will also be involved in sensitizing the route. The first drone strike took place at midnight on June 6-7 last year at an Indian Air Force station in Jammu.
Apart from this, there have been incidents in Jammu and Kashmir where drones carrying weapons, ammunition and IEDs from Pakistan were taken to Jammu in October last year.
