By IANS
Srinagar : Home Minister Shivraj Patil arrived in Jammu and Kashmir Saturday to review the security arrangements ahead of the annual Amarnath pilgrimage and take stock of the ground situation in the Valley in the wake of increasing cross-border infiltration.
Patil, who arrived here in the afternoon on a two-day visit, is scheduled to pay a visit to the Himalayan cave shrine Amarnath Sunday for a thorough assessment of the security and logistic arrangements.
The two-month-long pilgrimage was suspended Saturday due to inclement weather.
A high-level official meeting was held at the heavily guarded Sheri Kashmir International Conference Centre, which was attended by Governor Lt. Gen (Retd) S.K. Sinha, Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad as well as top civil, army, paramilitary and police officers.
According to officials, Patil was briefed about the current situation in the state by top army, police and paramilitary officials.
Besides, the sudden increase in infiltration from across the Line of Control (LoC) was also discussed in the meeting.
Earlier in the day, Patil paid obeisance to Vaishno Devi shrine in the Trikuta hills of Jammu region.
He is also scheduled to review various development projects for the state, taken up under the economic reconstruction programme announced by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.