Dehradun/Pithoragarh, May 10 -- Amid escalating tensions with Pakistan, the Uttarakhand government has deployed additional paramilitary forces for the ongoing Char Dham yatra, officials aware of the development said on Friday. Uttarakhand home secretary Shailesh Bagauli said, "We had earlier deployed eight companies of paramilitary forces in the Char Dham yatra. The state has received additional seven companies amid escalating tensions with Pakistan after India carried out Operation Sindoor. These companies mainly have been deployed for the Char Dham yatra, apart from Purnagiri fair in Tanakpur (Udham Singh Nagar)." Uttarakhand director general of police Deepam Seth said after India carried out 'Operation Sindoor', all units of the police department in the state have been placed on high alert. "We are maintaining a strict surveillance at sensitive institutions, religious places, and inter-state borders," he said. He added that apart from police, PAC (Provincial Armed Constabulary), SDRF (State Disaster Response Force), Anti- Terrorist Squad (ATS), and central paramilitary forces have been deployed at identified locations. "We also issued instructions to increase vigilance along the India-Nepal border and to increase joint patrolling with the SSB (Sashastra Seema Bal)," he said. Seth said a large-scale verification campaign is already being conducted across the state. "We are also monitoring the social media. I urge the public to act with complete restraint and responsibility while posting on social media in the current security scenario. Strict action will be taken against those found spreading misleading posts or rumours," he said. On May 7, chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami had expressed his gratitude to Union Home Minister Amit Shah for providing additional companies of paramilitary forces to the state. The Char Dham yatra began on April 30 with the opening of Yamunotri and Gangotri temples. The Kedarnath temple opened on May 2, and Badrinath Dham on May 4. Last year, 4.8 million pilgrims visited Char Dham shrines and the Hemkund Sahib shrine since the opening of the portals on May 10. Out of 4.8 million pilgrims who visited Char Dham shrines, 1.42 million visited Badrinath, 183722 visited Hemkund Sahib, 1.65 million visited Kedarnath, 0.81 million visited Gangotri Dham and 0.71 million visited Yamunotri Dham. In 2023, Char Dham yatra broke all previous records with pilgrim influx crossing the 5.6 million mark, according to tourism department officials....