Logistics management along the Ganges entrusted to Ia
Last hours of frenetic preparations in Prayagraj, along the banks of the Ganges river, for the official start, tomorrow at dawn, of the rites of the Maha Kunbha Mela, the mega Hindu pilgrimage which takes place in Prayagraj, (the former Allahabad), every 12 years, and which promises to be one of the largest mass religious events in history.
According to the authorities, during the event, which will end on February 26, over 400 million people, including believers and tourists, will meet along the banks of the Ganges to participate or witness the sacred practices, which culminate in various days of ritual baths. Last week the orders of priests and congregations of sadhus, almost 500 thousand religious who will stay for the entire duration of the event, have already reached Parayagraj and have settled in the temporary megalopolis of tents, set up from scratch, in record time .
In addition to the religious aspect, the Maha Kumbh Mela 2025 constitutes a formidable challenge for the central and state governments of Uttar Pradesh, both from an economic point of view, for the huge investments in infrastructure, and for the turnover it will generate, both for the complexity of logistics management.
With an innovative choice, in “a confluence of faith and modernity”, all aspects relating to traffic, reception and accommodation, access to the waters of the river for millions of people on the most favorable days for ritual baths, services and security, have been entrusted to artificial intelligence.
The government emphasizes that AI will manage data collected by thousands of CCTV cameras and hundreds of drones, including underwater ones, controlling, for example, crowd density at crucial moments, while various apps and digital platforms have been launched to help participants move around, find each other, solve any problems.
