India’s 57-day Amarnath Yatra begins July 3 and concludes August 28, with authorities deploying 670 companies of Central Armed Police Forces across illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir. It is the largest security deployment in the pilgrimage’s history.
The mobilisation is under Operation SANJY-2026 in which multi-layered security grid has been established around the Yatra routes, base camps and all the critical points along the Yatra route.
Security measures involve AI-powered facial recognition, night vision drone surveillance, high watchtowers and a thick CCTV network, and RFID-based monitoring. To conduct Anti-Sabotage checks, Dog squads are deployed at sensitive locations, langars and lodgement centres.
Anantnag Police has also started the Pahchan App which is a mobile application available on QR codes for all service providers who are associated with the Yatra and need to register themselves as well as verify. Pilgrims and security personnel can scan credentials on the spot to confirm identity in real time.
The deployment is a reflection of the security environment in occupied Kashmir in recent months, which has been strained. The attack in April 2025 in Pahalgam and the subsequent collapse of the Indus Waters Treaty have added to the security equation of holding large gatherings in the region, given the earlier India-Pakistan hostilities earlier this year. The Yatra has been under a named military operation, reflecting the fact that New Delhi is viewing it as a security rather than logistical exercise.
