No more 'guesstimates': Inside Maha Kumbh's integrated command centre, a resolve to avoid stampedes

Mahakumbh Nagar: A sprawling temporary city spread over 10,000 acres, more than a crore pilgrims and seers living at a time and about 20 lakh visitors daily -- the Integrated Control Command Centre here is keeping a hawk's eye to ensure smooth crowd management through continuous monitoring and avoid untoward incidents.

More than 400 people each in four Integrated Control Command Centres (ICCC) keep a continuous watch on big screens displaying live footage and data from hotspots to alert the personnel on crowd density and pilgrim flow.

The source of the visuals -- more than 3,000 cameras, underwater drones and a battery of over 60,000 personnel on the ground.

The mega-religious event, organised every 12 years, is being held in Prayagraj from January 13 and will continue for 45 days. More than seven crore pilgrims have so far taken a holy dip at the Sangam -- the confluence of the Ganga, Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati rivers.

A PTI reporter spent a day inside the main ICCC and learnt about its inner workings, including the conduct of surveillance from three angles -- security, crowd management and crime prevention.

According to Superintendent of Police Amit Kumar, an Indian Police Service (IPS) officer of the Uttar Pradesh cadre and the ICCC in-charge, the data being captured was accurate to ensure there were no more "guesstimates".

"This is the first time in the world that Artificial Intelligence (AI) is being used for crowd management at this scale. We have installed more than 3,000 cameras across the mela area and the city, of which 1,800 are AI-enabled. There is absolute no guess work, everything is based on real-time data being captured extensively," Kumar told PTI.

"Whenever the crowd density at a particular place rises above the marked threshhold, an alert pops up on the screens and the information is communicated to the wireless grids. Teams on the ground swing into action at this point and diversions are made accordingly. There are 13 contingency schemes defined in the SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures) with a different modus operandi for each scheme," he explained.

"An alert pops up each time there is a barricade breach or traffic convergence from all directions leads to congestion or even if there is a fire," he added.

A cop deployed as an observer in the command centre told PTI that they undertook 10-hour shifts each to continuously monitor the live feed pouring in while a dedicated call centre attended to complaints and intimations from the pilgrims.

"The call centre has been integrated with the police helpline, women helpline, fire and ambulance services," he said.

Four ICCCs are operational in the Maha Kumbh -- the head office and in the city and two in the Jhunsi and the Arail areas. More than 60,000 police personnel and 56 police stations are in place to ensure safety.

Additionally, 30 pontoon bridges and grand entry and exit gates are also under the scanner of cameras, besides the ghats and other areas in the mela ground.

Mahakumbh Nagar Additional District Magistrate Vivek Chaturvedi said the administration maintained regular touch with the Railways and the roadways to corroborate pilgrim influx data.

"There are 17 entry points to the mela, so there is continuous monitoring of influx there and at the exit points. The idea is not just to get an accurate headcount but also use data analytics to be able to predict congestion and activate a contingency plan," he told PTI.

"According to government estimates, more than 45 crore people would attend the Maha Kumbh this time. Hence, crowd management is a big challenge but AI is helping us leverage technology to ensure a smooth experience," he added.

The Uttar Pradesh government has also written to the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Police Academy to send officers to the Maha Kumbh "to study crowd management and other varied aspects" of their duties.

In 1954, more than 400 people were killed in the Kumbh after being trampled or drowned in one of the deadliest crowd-related disasters worldwide. At least 36 people died during the 2013 festival, the last time it was held in Prayagraj.