By AFP
PAHALGAM: Hindus began a vast month-long pilgrimage in contested Illegally Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJ&K) on Thursday, with many of the faithful starting from near the site where a deadly April attack triggered conflict with Pakistan.
Last year, half a million devotees took part in the Amarnath pilgrimage to a sacred ice pillar located in a cave in the forested Himalayan hills above the town of Pahalgam.
Pahalgam is the site where gunmen on April 22 killed 26 mostly tourists.
New Delhi said the gunmen were backed by Pakistan, claims Islamabad rejected 鈥 triggering a series of tit-for-tat diplomatic measures that escalated into a four-day conflict.
It was the worst standoff by the nuclear-armed nations since 1999, with more than 70 people killed in missile, drone and artillery fire on both sides, before a May 10 ceasefire.
But pilgrim Muneshwar Das Shashtri, who travelled from Uttar Pradesh state, told AFP 鈥渢here is no fear of any kind鈥.
鈥淥ur army is standing guard everywhere. No one can raise a finger towards us,鈥 he said.
India has ramped up security for the event, deploying 45,000 troops with high-tech surveillance tools overseeing the gruelling trek to reach the high-altitude cave, dedicated to the Hindu deity of destruction Shiva.
鈥淲e have multi-layered and in-depth security arrangements so that we can make the pilgrimage safe and smooth for the devotees,鈥 said VK Birdi, police chief for the Muslim-majority territory.
鈥楴ot afraid鈥
At Pahalgam, soldiers have turned a tented base camp into a fortress encircled by razor wire.
Troops in newly deployed armoured cars, or from gun positions behind sandbags, keep a close watch 鈥 efforts boosted by facial recognition cameras.
鈥淗igh-quality surveillance cameras have been installed at all major points along the route,鈥 said Manoj Sinha, the Indian-appointed top administrator for Occupied Jammu and Kashmir.
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All pilgrims must be registered and travel in guarded vehicle convoys, until they start out to walk.
Camouflaged bunkers have been erected in the forests along the route, where dozens of makeshift kitchens provide free food.
Electronic radio cards pinpoint their location.
Pilgrims can take several days to reach the cave, perched at 3,900 metres (12,800 feet) high, around 30 kilometres (18 miles) uphill from the last easily motorable track.
鈥淲hatever the attack that was carried out here, I am not afraid. I have come to get a glimpse of baba (the ice formation)鈥 said Ujwal Yadav, 29, from India鈥檚 Uttar Pradesh state, undertaking his first pilgrimage to the shrine.
鈥淪uch are the security arrangements here that no one can be hurt.鈥
Sinha has said that 鈥減ublic confidence is returning鈥, but admits that pilgrim registration had dipped by 10% this year.
Once a modest, little-known ritual, attended by only a few thousand mainly local devotees, the pilgrimage has grown since an armed insurgency erupted in 1989.
Rebels fighting in Illegally Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJ&K) have said the pilgrimage is not a target, but have warned they would act if it was used to assert Hindu dominance.
In 2017, suspected rebels attacked a pilgrim bus, killing 11 people.
The gunmen who carried out the April 22 killings remain at large, despite the manhunt by security forces inbIIOJ&K where India has half a million soldiers permanently deployed.
On June 22, India鈥檚 National Investigation Agency said two men had been arrested from the Pahalgam area who they said had 鈥減rovided food, shelter and logistical support鈥 to the gunmen.
Indian police have issued wanted notices for three of the gunmen, two of whom they claim were Pakistani citizens.