Vizag Yoga event held incident-free despite stampede concerns, thanks to tech-enabled policing

Hyderabad: While large gatherings worldwide have increasingly resulted in dangerous stampedes and tragic fatalities, the International Yoga Day celebrations held along the beachfront in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, last Saturday demonstrated how technology and best policing practices can help crowd management.

Approximately 3 lakh people participated in the event along the beach road without a single incident, thanks to sophisticated AI-powered crowd management systems deployed by Andhra Pradesh police. Prime Minister Narendra Modi attended the event alongside Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu.

The success of this massive gathering hinged on the deployment of ASTraM (Actionable Intelligence for Sustainable Traffic Management), an advanced system that utilizes drones and an integrated command control room to provide real-time instructions to ground-level traffic police for effective crowd regulation and traffic management.

ASTraM represents a new generation of crowd control technology specifically designed to support large-scale events while streamlining traffic flow. The system's most notable feature is its live parking information system, which proved crucial for managing the anticipated influx of visitors. This component provides real-time monitoring of available parking spaces throughout the area, enabling authorities to direct vehicles efficiently and significantly reduce congestion in critical zones.

The system combines GPS data, CCTV surveillance feeds, and artificial intelligence analytics to identify traffic congestion hotspots as they develop. Once identified, it implements dynamic solutions including strategic traffic re-routing and intelligent traffic signal coordination, ensuring smooth flow throughout the event area.

With around 3.03 lakh participants and 21,122 tribal students performing Surya Namaskar, the event set two Guinness World Records for the largest yoga gathering.

Over 10,000 police personnel were deployed, including APSP, NSG, civil police, and volunteers, organized in a three-tier security structure covering ground, perimeter, and aerial surveillance. The security apparatus included more than 3,000 CCTV cameras, with 1,200 positioned along the beach alone. Drone-based live monitoring and a centralized Command & Control Room enabled real-time oversight of the entire event. The ASTraM app facilitated crowd density tracking, traffic rerouting, and parking management, while a QR code-based entry system ensured participant verification and regulated access.

Event organizers created 326 micro-compartments, each equipped with yoga mats, LED screens, potable water, Wi-Fi connectivity, mobile toilets, and medical tents. Over 20,000 volunteers assisted with logistics, hygiene maintenance, and crowd control throughout the event. The operation managed 7,200+ APSRTC and hired buses, along with 10,000+ vehicles through a planned movement strategy.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi personally led the Common Yoga Protocol session at the venue, while Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu directly supervised pre-event reviews and ground planning.

“The unprecedented scale of India's world record-holding yoga gathering showcased strategic execution through meticulous planning with tech-led, compartmentalized organization. Andhra Pradesh Police has set a new national standard in crowd and event management, earning widespread media praise and international recognition. The Vizag Yoga Day 2025 event now serves as a benchmark for managing high-density public events with precision, safety, and seamless coordination, demonstrating that even gatherings of hundreds of thousands can be conducted safely with proper technological infrastructure and coordinated planning,” said Andhra Pradesh, DGP, Harish Kumar Gupta.