CCTV, security audits: Parliament panel calls for tighter security at J&K tourist spots

The panel’s suggestions come a year after 25 tourists and a pony operator were killed by three Pakistani terrorists in Pahalgam’s Baisaran meadow last year.

A parliamentary panel on home affairs has recommended developing an integrated security and surveillance framework, incorporating comprehensive CCTV coverage, centralised monitoring facilities, regular vulnerability assessments and periodic security audits at all major tourist destinations in Jammu and Kashmir.

Armed security personnel present near Ghanta Ghar as security tightens in and around Lal Chowk on the 7th anniversary of the revocation of Article 370, in Srinagar on Wednesday. (ANI)

The panel’s suggestions come a year after 25 tourists and a pony operator were killed by three Pakistani terrorists in Pahalgam’s Baisaran meadow on April 22, 2025, triggering a four-day armed conflict between India and Pakistan.

The panel has further asked the government to prescribe and review clear inter-agency standard operating procedures (SOPs) before every peak tourist season to ensure a coordinated and timely response to any security-related incident.

A delegation of department related standing committee on home affairs, led by Dr Radha Mohan Das Agrawal, visited Gulmarg on May 13 and Sonmarg on May 14 to undertake an on-the-spot assessment of the security arrangements at major tourist destinations and to review the preparedness measures in place for ensuring the safety and convenience of tourists.

“The committee appreciates the comprehensive security arrangements put in place by the Union Territory administration and the Jammu and Kashmir Police at Gulmarg and other major tourist and religious destinations...The committee, however, recommends that an integrated security and surveillance framework be developed for all major tourist destinations, incorporating comprehensive CCTV coverage, centralised monitoring facilities, regular vulnerability assessments and periodic security audits,” the panel said in its 260th report, tabled in Parliament on Friday.

“The committee further recommends that clear inter-agency standard operating procedures be prescribed and reviewed before every peak tourist season to ensure a coordinated and timely response to any security-related incident,” the report states.

The panel further recommended that the “existing inter-agency coordination mechanism be further institutionalised through a unified command-and-control framework, clearly defined responsibilities and real-time information-sharing protocols”. “Periodic joint security audits and vulnerability assessments should also be conducted, particularly before the commencement of the tourist season and the Yatra, to identify and address emerging security concerns,” it said.

Security at border

Committee members also visited Drass and Kargil on May 15 to assess border security management and operational preparedness of the armed forces.

At Post 43 in Kargil, the committee members interacted with army personnel and obtained a first-hand understanding of border management practices, terrain and other operational contingencies.

For these sensitive sectors, the panel has recommended “sustained investment in integrated intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities, counter-drone systems, secure communication networks and indigenous high-altitude technologies”.

It has further asked the ministry of defence to ensure their “timely procurement, deployment and periodic technological upgradation in all strategically important sectors”. It also recommended accelerated development of all-weather roads, tunnels, bridges, advanced storage facilities, forward logistics hubs and alternative supply routes.