MAHAKUMBH NAGAR, Jan 18: Around 7-8 crore yatris are expected to take a holy dip in the confluence of the Ganga, Yamuna, and Saraswati (mythical) rivers in Prayagraj on the occasion of Mauni Amavasya on January 29.
Earlier, 3.5 crore pilgrims visited the holy site on Makkar Sankranti on January 14, and the footfall on Paush Purnima on January 13 was 1.65 crore.
With around 50-60 lakh Kalpvasis, including their relatives and disciples, permanently stationed around the bank on the confluence of the holy rivers in either Government or self-established tents and hutments, heightened security arrangements have been put in place by the Uttar Pradesh Government, led by Yogi Adityanath, to ensure an incident-free event that began on January 13 and will conclude on February 26.
“As around 6-7 crore pilgrims are expected to take a holy dip on Mauni Amavasya, the UP Government has placed adequate security arrangements both within the mela venue and Prayagraj town as a whole,” said Vivek Chaturvedi, ADM Mela and Media Coordinator, Prayagraj Mela Authority.
According to Chaturvedi, 40,000 police personnel, besides 100 companies of paramilitary forces, NSG, ATS, and other security forces, have been deployed to manage the security arrangements of the mela.
Additionally, he said, AI is being used for the first time to ensure efficient management of traffic and foolproof security arrangements in and around the mela venue.
Chaturvedi further said that 2,700 CCTV cameras—1,800 in the mela venue and 900 in other vital locations—across Allahabad, including at Railway Stations, bus stops, and airports, have also been installed to plug all loopholes regarding the security of the venue.
The AI and cameras are also being used for other purposes, including locating missing individuals through dedicated centres called Khoya-Paaya Kendras, and decongesting congested roads as well as bridges over the confluence of the rivers, he said.
The AI technology, according to him, uses facial intelligence to maintain a repository of persons with similar identities to find the missing persons.
