Security has been significantly stepped up along the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway and key strategic points across the Union Territory ahead of Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s three-day visit to Jammu and Kashmir, starting April 6 tomorrow.
Shah is scheduled to arrive in Jammu tomorrow afternoon, a day earlier than previously planned.
Official sources told news agency KINS that security has been intensified along the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway and other sensitive zones across the Union Territory ahead of Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s three-day visit to Jammu and Kashmir, beginning April 6.
Additional checkpoints, increased patrolling, and aerial surveillance have been deployed to ensure foolproof arrangements amid heightened alert, especially in the wake of the recent terror encounter in Kathua.
The Home Minister is scheduled to chair two high-level security meetings, review Amarnath Yatra preparations, and virtually inaugurate key development projects.
His visit will include two high-level security review meetings, a virtual inauguration of several developmental projects, and political engagements with BJP leaders, as per official sources.
KINS further reported that one of the major highlights of the visit will be Shah chairing a meeting of the Unified Headquarters, the apex security body in Jammu and Kashmir. The meeting, to be attended by Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, top Army commanders, senior officers of paramilitary forces, the Jammu and Kashmir Police, intelligence agencies, and civil administration, will focus on reviewing the current security scenario with a sharp eye on infiltration attempts and militant movement in the Jammu region, particularly in Kathua and Udhampur districts.
A second crucial meeting will be held exclusively to assess preparations for the upcoming Shri Amarnath Yatra, scheduled from July 3 to August 9. The discussion will center around security deployment, infrastructure readiness, and logistical planning for the annual pilgrimage to South Kashmir Himalayas.
Sources said that Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan and other senior officials from the Ministry of Home Affairs and central agencies will accompany Shah for these reviews.
In addition to security deliberations, Shah will virtually inaugurate and lay the foundation stone for multiple multi-crore development projects from Srinagar. Chief Minister Omar Abdullah is expected to join the function and may also hold a one-on-one meeting with the Home Minister.
On the political front, Shah will meet 28 BJP MLAs and senior party leaders in Jammu on April 6, coinciding with Ramnavmi celebrations. The meeting, also expected to be attended by Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh, will review the performance of BJP legislators in the ongoing budget session, which resumes April 7.
During his Jammu stay, Shah is scheduled to visit the International Border and meet with families of police personnel martyred in recent counter-terror operations. The Home Minister will leave for Srinagar on the afternoon of April 7 and return to New Delhi on April 8.(KINS) Ishtiyaq Kar
