Author: Luv Puri
Publication: The Hindu
Date: August 24, 2003
URL: http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/2003/08/24/stories/2003082400641100.htm
A month after the gruesome terrorist
attack on Vaishno Devi pilgrims in which six persons, including an infant,
were killed, the pilgrimage tourism in the State has shown no sign of waning.
In fact, figures show a trend of
rapid increase, as compared to the last year, a clear pointer to the fact
that the pilgrims visiting the shrine from all corners of the country are
unfazed by the strike.
Till August 15, a total of 34.30
lakh pilgrims had had darshan at the shrine. For the same period last year,
the figure was 26.58 lakh. There has been an increase of 8.71 lakh pilgrims
to the shrine this year.
On July 21 last year, the day of
the attack, 24,000 pilgrims had come to the town, but a month later, the
number had gone up to 27,000.
In the first fortnight of August,
2,74,671 pilgrims visited the shrine, compared to 2,65,671 in the same
period last year.
The entire complex near the shrine
has now become fortified zone with increased security.
Pilgrims arrive at the shrine all
through the year and the doors of hotels used to be open during the nights.
But now, hoteliers make detailed enquiries and ask pilgrims to produce
identity cards. The instructions are clear: suspicious persons must be
turned away and police alerted.
The once bustling and welcoming
town of Katra is fast turning into a mini-cantonment, with large-scale
deployment of troops. In the aftermath of the attack, CRPF soldiers lined
the entire route to the Vaishno Devi shrine. At several places there are
X-ray machines and pilgrims have to undergo time-consuming security checks.
According to the Superintendent
of Police, Katra, Sewa Singh, terrorists know that people from every part
of the country come to the Vaishno Devi shrine and an attack here would
have a wide impact.
Vaishali, a 32-year-old pilgrim
who comes every year, said the place had become a fort guarded by soldiers.
``But we do understand it is a necessity in the present circumstances.''
Army personnel are visible in the
background at several vulnerable spots. Quick reaction teams of police,
with their bullet-proof jackets, patrol the route to the shrine.
A security beef-up was ordered last
week in view of fresh threat perceptions. Another battalion of the Central
Reserve Police Force arrived here. The militant who lobbed the two grenades
at the pilgrims has been arrested.
But police also confirmed intercepting
a series of messages pointing to yet another strike at the shrine.
It is the topographical proximity
of Trikuta hills to militant's operational zones that make the Vaishno
Devi shrine vulnerable.
On the northern edge of the Trikuta
hills, where the shrine is located, are the militancy-affected areas of
Gool- Gulabgrah.
Even if the inside territory is
secured, guarding the hills around it, which provide entry points to the
militants, is a difficult task.
