Managing 2 cr pilgrims daily for 45 days: a task

Bhanu Bhaskar, ADG, Prayagraj Zone, says techs like AI & machine learning have come handy in crowd management

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As the Maha Kumbh nears its finale on Mahashivratri on Wednesday, it leaves behind a trail of bitter-sweet memory. Bhanu Bhaskar, ADG, Prayagraj Zone, who is responsible for maintaining the mela security, tells Namita Bajpai that managing a crowd of more than 1.5-2 crore daily for 45 days is a daunting task. Excerpts:

Did the administration expect such a surge of crowd at the Maha Kumbh?

As per the previous trend and the historical data suggests that after the fourth snan, which is the Basant Panchmi one, there is a drop in crowd in Kumbh and Maha Kumbh. And after the fifth and the sixth snan, there is a discernible drop in the crowd. But this time, the crowd swelled and we had a consistent flow of 1.5 to 2 crore pilgrims every day.

What was the strategy for crowd management?

The pre-mela strategy depends on quite a few things. One was getting inputs about incoming crowds and the pace at which the crowd is coming up. So there was a regular feedback mechanism from all verticals like the roadways, roads and toll plazas and the railways. These are the regular modes of transport for the pilgrims. There was a regular input mechanism, which was used to take decisions regarding crowd management. Also, we adopted strategies like facilitation and diversion of the crowds.