Maha Kumbh 2025 at Prayagraj is emerging as a unique model of upholding the religious tradition with continuity with the utilisation of the Artificial Intelligence (AI) at its best. The influx of the pilgrims and the tourists at the Divine congregation that has taken place after 144 years due to the auspicious alignment of planets is attracting visitors of all hues. The bird’s overview of the destination makes the whole Kumbh Nagri appear to be engulfed by the human sea venturing from all sides. To manage such a huge convergence of people at one destination it needs extraordinary management and arrangement.
Prayagraj Mela Authority (PMA),Government of Uttar Pradesh is leaving no stone unturned to make the Maha Kumbh 2025successful.The tagline of the Maha Kumbh has been aptly been cited as “Divya, Bhavya and Digital Maha Kumbh 2025.”The Uttar Administration is adhering to present spiritual, expansive and digital by integrating these aspects with perfection to reach the global audience and offer the best services to the pilgrims and tourists. In order to make the Maha Kumbh hassle free and micro manage the people so that accidents and tragedies are averted ,the administration is enhancing the pilgrim experience by making the services a combination of digital and physical. It is like creating the confluence of the traditional Yatra management system with the modern AI innovations.
While talking to the Rising Kashmir, Amit Kumar(IPS),SP, in charge, Integrated Command Control Centre(ICCC) said, “ Approximately 3000 CCTV’s have been installed to monitor the movement of the pilgrims and tourists at the Maha Kumbh. The density of the visitors is being calculated with the help of AI based technology,56 police stations have been made functional in the destination area to facilitate law and order and extend a helping hand to the devotees. The AI based model being adopted at the Maha Kumbh is being analysed and modified to the Indian needs and can be replicated in various events in rest of India to create effective and safe management of the big religious and cultural events.”
Briefing the media personnel about the entire management of the Maha Kumbh 2025,Vivek Chaturvedi, ADM,Mela said, “The number of pilgrims and tourists pouring to the Maha Kumbh is increasing every day. Nearly 22-23 lakh Kalpawasis are stationed at the Kumbh Nagri who are accompanied by approximately 3-4 family members. That makes their number to reach around 50 lakh. These pilgrims follow the strict religious regimen meant to enhance the immunity with pious religious practices during the Kumbh Mela.”
He also informed the media about the preferences being followed to allot the camping and bathing dates to the various segments of Sadhus and Sants. These include the Akharas, Dhnatiwaras, Khakchoks,etc. To cater to their camping needs approximately 1.6 lakh tents have been erected.
The focus of the integrated approach towards the Maha Kumbh management is the amalgamation of traditional and digital elements meant to develop a sustainable model that can withstand the pulls and pressures of the new age trends in the travelling pattern. So that supply and demand relationship is well managed to generate the apt infrastructure that can be used beyond the current requirement at the Maha Kumbh.
While developing the Maha Kumbh Nagri,the Uttar Pradesh Government has utilised this opportunity to do value addition in its facilities by giving a facelift to the railways, airport,riverfront, sanitation besides enhancement of the water quality management at the Sangam with the help of the Regional Pollution Control Board.
To ensure the safety and security of the pilgrims at the destination area the Uttar Pradesh Government has deployed nearly 40,000 police personnel and 100 companies of the para military forces that includes the NSG,ATS and snipers.The authorities have informed that in order to develop an economic model that can be used to understand the multiplier effect of the economy due to the Mela,Allahabad University was commissioned with a study and it has been implemented for the benefit of all the stakeholders.
In this Maha Kumbh the thrust of the policy makers has been to prolong the length of stay of the pilgrims and tourists so that other religious circuits of Uttar Pradesh are integrated in the tourist map. This is going to create a temple corridor that will make Uttar Pradesh Tourism a comprehensive package.
Uttar Pradesh is ready to host 6 crore pilgrims on the Mauni Amavasya and for that the state has widened the roads in Prayagraj including the road leading to the Holy Confluence of the Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswati. The Traffic Advisory Committee is managing the movement of the unprecedented traffic with precision making it a model worth emulating.
All roads leading to Prayagraj are illuminated and roads are being cleaned on priority to maintain the hygiene. Maha Kumbh 2025 has proved that India is creating new benchmarks in pilgrim management and exploring new mechanisms to develop AI based models to minimise the loopholes that have posed serious challenges to regulate the tourist traffic when it comes to mass tourism. This synergy meant to preserve the traditional Maha Kumbh with its originality with the modern techniques is a first of its kind. All organs of administration in UP have proved that well-coordinated efforts with the value addition and innovation give dividends in pilgrim tourism. The branding, marketing of the destination and targeting of the tourists besides the traditional pilgrims is a unique combination to transform and sustain the tourism at the destination area. Maha Kumbh 2025 is creating a tourist gaze for India at the global level as the centuries old spiritual spectacle has been sued to develop a new tourism model that is enabling the confluence of the pilgrims and the tourists at the one place.One seeking the bliss and the other segments being witness to this bliss. On the one side there is the confluence of the Divine Rivers to wash the sins of mankind and on the other there is the confluence of the traditional rituals with the modern techniques to expand the reach of the congregation.
