By IANS,
Jammu : In a veiled reference to last summer’s unrest in Kashmir, the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) Saturday said that it was prepared to deal with any situation in the Valley in the coming months and facilitate the June-July Amarnath pilgrimage.
“We are prepared for all sorts of situation and the CRPF men are ready to assist the state police in internal security and law and order situation,” CRPF Special Director General Anirudh Uppal told reporters here.
“The CRPF will also assist police in regulating Amarnath pilgrimage,” Uppal said. The pilgrimage is scheduled to start June 29.
For the past three years, a particular pattern has been seen that the Kashmir Valley erupts when the pilgrimage starts during summers.
Kashmiri separatists have been demanding that the pilgrimage period be curtailed to 15 days. This year, the pilgrimage period has been reduced from 60 days to 45 days.
More than 1,500 CRPF troopers were injured last year. Some of them were injured critically by protesters who hurled stones at the troopers.