Amarnath Yatra: CRPF prepares mountain rescue teams for pilgrims on Baltal axis
Srinagar: The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) has readied a Mountain Rescue Team (MRT) of its personnel who will provide emergency help to the pilgrims during the forthcoming Amarnath Yatra through the Baltal route in Jammu and Kashmir.
The 30-personnel team will be equipped with all the basic rescue and medical aid kit like oxygen cylinders, portable stretchers, ropes, medicines for high-altitude sickness and drinking water etc.
“The teams will be deployed at strategic locations along the Baltal route. They will assist pilgrims who require basic medical care or help due to exhaustion or injury,” Sudhir Kumar, CRPF deputy inspector general (DIG) and Nodal officer for the Yatra, told PTI.
Kumar, who is conducting the Yatra for the third time, said the CRPF MRT will also assist other relief and rescue agencies in case of landslide or flash floods.
These CRPF teams have become a regular feature along the Baltal axis since the last year and were seen administering oxygen and other essentials to the needy travellers and those who are part of organising the Yatra.
This CRPF MRT along with others will be flagged off for deployment from Srinagar on Thursday, a senior officer said.
The 57-day pilgrimage to the 3,880-metre-high cave shrine in the Himalayas is scheduled to begin on July 3.
Pilgrims travel through the traditional 48-km Nunwan-Pahalgam route in Anantnag district and the shorter but steeper 14-km Baltal route in Ganderbal district to reach the shrine.
A total of 670 companies of the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) are being deployed for the security of the Yatra apart from the personnel of Jammu and Kashmir Police.
Last year, 581 CAPF companies were deployed for the annual pilgrimage. The units have been enhanced this time “in view of the current security threats assessed post the Pahalgam attack in 2025”, officials said.
Each CAPF company has an operational strength of 72-75 personnel.
