Security of Vaishno Devi shrine reviewed ahead of Navratri

Jammu: Senior officers on Monday reviewed the security arrangements at the famous Mata Vaishno Devi shrine in Jammu and Kashmir’s Reasi district ahead of the Navratri festival which will start from October 7, police said.

Deputy Inspector General of Police, Udhampur-Reasi Range, Suleman Choudhary conducted the security review meeting at Katra, the base camp for the pilgrims visiting the famous shrine atop the Trikuta hills.

Senior Superintendent of Police, Reasi, Shailender Singh and senior officers of Army, CRPF, Railways and intelligence agencies were among others who attended the meeting, a police spokesman said.

During the meeting, he said, the SSP presented detailed security arrangements put in place for Katra town and adjoining areas, discussed various security measures going to be placed enroute the shrine for the nine-day festival .

The spokesman said the DIG reviewed each and every security drill of the shrine, yatra route, safety and security of pilgrims whose number is expected to increase during the festival and the observance of COVID-19 Appropriate Behaviour.

He directed for a joint security drill of police and Central Armed Police Forces for security of the shrine.

He also stressed upon frequent verification and census of outsiders putting up in and around Katra town, the spokesman said, adding the officer directed for checking of character antecedents of horsemen, porters and other people entering the town on priority to segregate the suspicious elements.

Choudhary also directed the police to conduct checking of the hotels and other residential accommodations on regular basis besides calling for revisiting the list of Over-ground workers and monitoring of social media to curb the new pattern of radicalization, the spokesman said.