Key Highlights
- Over 8,500 troops positioned along major ascent routes to safeguard pilgrims
- Deployment of a 50-plus unit C-UAS network for counter-drone vigilance
- Fully equipped medical infrastructure: 100-bed facility and 26 oxygen stations
- Integrated communication and rapid response teams ensuring real-time monitoring
- Collaboration with CAPFs and civil authorities to form a multilayered security grid
Detailed Insights
Operation SHIVA 2025 was announced on 25 August 2025, with the explicit aim of creating a secure environment for the annual Amarnath pilgrimage. The Indian Army’s strategy relies on three pillars: territorial control, technology-driven surveillance, and comprehensive disaster preparedness.
Territorial Control: Approximately 8,500 soldiers are arrayed along the northern and southern corridors, working in tandem with CAPFs and local civil bodies to enforce checkpoints and conduct patrols.
Technology-Driven Surveillance: A network of 50+ counter‑unmanned aerial systems (C‑UAS) and high-resolution PTZ cameras keeps a continuous watch on the route and the cave complex. Live drone feeds are used to detect threats at early stages.
Medical & Logistical Support: The army has established 150+ medical staff, 2 dressing stations, 9 aid posts, and a 100‑bed hospital, supported by 26 oxygen booths containing 200,000 litres of oxygen. Additional provisions include emergency food for 25,000 pilgrims, tent shelters, bulldozers, and water‑point installations.
Rapid Response & Coordination: Quick‑Reaction Teams (QRTs), bomb-detection squads, and a dedicated helicopter squadron are on standby. All units communicate via signal companies to maintain a real-time situational picture.
Key Concepts
- Counter-Unmanned Aerial System (C-UAS): Ground-based technology for detecting and neutralising drone activities.
- Quick-Reaction Team (QRT): Specialized unit trained to respond instantly to emerging incidents.
- Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs): National paramilitary organisations that collaborate with the Army during large-scale operations.
- Multi-Layered Counter-Terror Grid: Integrated security architecture involving checkpoints, surveillance, and troop deployments.
- Strategic Medical Infrastructure: Portable and fixed facilities designed to deliver immediate medical aid in challenging terrains.