Srinagar, June 24 -- Srinagar- Jammu and Kashmir has been placed on maximum alert ahead of the 57-day annual Amarnath Yatra, with authorities rolling out an extensive security, surveillance and traffic management plan to ensure the smooth conduct of the pilgrimage beginning July 3.

The annual pilgrimage to the 3,880-metre-high Amarnath cave shrine in south Kashmir will conclude on August 28. This year's yatra will be significantly longer than last year's 38-day pilgrimage and is expected to witness the arrival of thousands of devotees from across the country.

Officials said security agencies have intensified preparations across the Union Territory, strengthening the security grid along the twin pilgrimage routes of Pahalgam and Baltal a...