AI-based surveillance to boost safety of pilgrims at Kumbh Mela, say officials

Prayagraj: A unique application of Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based surveillance system at the Maha Kumbh, implemented for the first time by the Yogi Adityanath administration on a mammoth scale, would help avert congregation accidents in the years ahead and avoid repetition of a tragedy like this year, Mela authorities said.

At least 30 people were killed and over 90 others were injured in a stampede on January 29 at the ongoing Maha Kumbh congregation at Prayagraj, which has already witnessed a footfall of record 60 crore pilgrims.

Some 2,750 close-circuit cameras monitoring the 4000-acre Mela ground, about 250 of which are AI-enabled, feeding information to the Integrated Control and Command Center (ICCC) of the Mela have empowered the authorities with unique and real-time insights into crowd density per metre square at the bathing ghats, people flow into the Mela premises per minute, parking status of vehicles, crowd accumulation at key junctions and the need to issue alerts based on pre-set danger thresholds, officials said.

“We will analyse the data of the Mela provided by the AI system once the congregation gets over. We will hopefully be able to revise those thresholds for more effective organisation of events of such a scale next time onwards and be better equipped to avert a repetition of a tragedy like this time,” said Amit Kumar, SP and in-charge of ICCC.

Officials said that four units of the ICCC, two of which are temporary set-ups at the Mela premises, operated as the central hub for traffic management, crowd control, security and emergency response, sanitation, healthcare and public communication during the Kumbh Mela.

A sneak peek into the command centre headquarters revealed multiple teams of policemen, comprising nearly 400 personnel, monitoring round-the-clock the CCTV feed from all 25 sectors of the giant mela ground.

There are giant screens sharing real-time information based on preset algorithms, flash colour-coded data and graphical charts that are interpreted and passed on to parallel operating radio teams spread over 13 grids.

They, in turn, pass on the interpreted information to ground teams for necessary action, Kumar explained.

“We expected the crowd to be big, but never expected to be this big,” the IPS officer said, “the heightened level of religious fervour among pilgrims this year led to them breaching barriers on that fateful night. We were able to contain the situation in quick time but some damage had been done.” Officials confirmed that the standard operation procedures (SOP) were revamped following the stampede, and have, so far, paid off in controlling the swelling crowd at what is arguably the world’s largest religious congregation.

“The applications of the SOPs are now being done more carefully. The frequency of announcements through our public address system has now been increased. Our announcement pitch is now stronger and more appealing than before,” Kumar said.

The 2025 edition of the Maha Kumbh will officially draw to a close on February 26 following the holy dip at the confluence of the Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswati rivers on the auspicious hours of Maha Shivratri.