Srinagar, June 28 -- Srinagar- Jammu and Kashmir Police on Sunday conducted comprehensive high-altitude operational drills at 18 strategic locations - many of them snow-bound - along the twin routes to the cave shrine of Amarnath, to assess preparedness of its mountain rescue teams (MRTs), an official said.

To bolster safety measures for the pilgrimage, 45 specialised MRTs, comprising personnel from the Jammu and Kashmir Police, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), have been deployed along the 48-km Pahalgam route in Anantnag district and the 14-km Baltal route in Ganderbal district, the official said.

The annual 57-day yatra to cave shrine, situated at an...