How AI is ensuring security at the Mahakumbh Mela 2025

Millions of devotees are flocking to one of the biggest religious gatherings in the world this year, the Mahakumbh Mela at Prayagraj (Allahabad). With millions of pilgrims, devotees, and brand promotions at this gathering, security is one of the most important aspects. How will the security of the expected 45 crore visitors be ensured during the Mahakumbh? With so many people travelling across the globe to take a Shahi Snan (royal bath) at the Kumbh, you can only imagine how crowded the Mela can get.

CCTV cameras equipped with AI is one of the ways that is serving. Prayagraj has been equipped with around 2,700 CCTV cameras out of which around 160 are AI enabled.

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Vehant Technologies, an AI security solution provider, has deployed several advanced AI-powered solutions at the event. The solutions include crowd detection and estimation, people counting, fire and smoke detection, attribute-based video search (video summarization), object counting and classification, automated number plate recognition (ANPR), barricade jumping detection, and parking management through vehicle counting. These innovations ensure seamless operations and enhanced safety for the millions attending this grand event.

The Tech Panda spoke to Anoop G Prabhu, Co-founder and CTO of Vehant Technologies, who says that events of this scale draw millions of people and come up with numerous challenges that require smart solutions to ensure everyone’s safety and the smooth running of operations.

“Managing such a massive crowd is not that easy because stampedes, overcrowding, and unauthorized access easily turn the scenario into chaos if not properly handled. The stakes are even higher when considering threats like fire hazards or even potential terrorist attacks,” he says.

“Early detection through advanced systems can make all the difference, allowing authorities to act quickly and prevent disasters. AI-powered threat detection solutions can monitor real-time activity to flag suspicious behavior or security breaches, empowering authorities to take proactive measures and safeguard lives effectively.”

“Early detection through advanced systems can make all the difference, allowing authorities to act quickly and prevent disasters. AI-powered threat detection solutions can monitor real-time activity to flag suspicious behavior or security breaches, empowering authorities to take proactive measures and safeguard lives effectively,” he adds.

This is where AI-powered real-time monitoring steps in to help, detect and resolve potentially risky situations even before they escalate.

He adds that, to avoid chaos during these times, better traffic and parking measures should be taken.

“With AI-driven parking solutions, vehicles are guided dynamically to the nearest available parking spaces while minimizing congestion and avoiding the formation of gridlocks. By using the right technology, these challenges can be managed in a very easy manner without creating any chaos, ensuring safe and well-organized massive gatherings,” says Prabhu.

“By using the right technology, these challenges can be managed in a very easy manner without creating any chaos, ensuring safe and well-organized massive gatherings.”

The Mela is witnessing a lot of technology to ensure a peaceful gathering, and AI is a significant part of it. Vehant Technologies’ AI-based crowd identification and people counting systems are fully compliant with NDMA rules, providing a proactive way to manage huge gatherings. According to the NDMA, there are specific thresholds for crowd density per sq mtr.

Prabhu explains that it triggers when the crowd density exceeds and senses a potential stampede situation, necessitating immediate action. Group and camera-wise density displays crowd density for both camera groups and individual cameras. It also analyses the flow of people entering and exiting top areas, with data available in minute and hourly intervals. Additionally, it provides a detailed map view to visualize crowd density and camera locations for effective monitoring.

“Vehant Technologies AI solutions are specifically built to monitor density in real-time, automatically calculating the number of people per square meter. Additionally, when thresholds are crossed, our system generates alerts well before a critical situation arises, allowing authorities to take swift action to prevent disaster. By ensuring compliance with these density limits, crowd flow control, and early risk detection. Our solutions enable authorities (customers) to maintain safe environments at large gatherings by significantly reducing the risk of overcrowding and stampedes,” he explains.

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When it comes to parking, the AI provides real-time monitoring by viewing total capacity, occupied slots, and available parking spaces instantly. It easily filters by density, zones, or specific parking areas for quick insights. It provides live updates by tracking available slots, occupied areas, and vehicle counts in real time, as well as analyzes entry/exit patterns, vehicle distribution, and parking trends.

This integration of AI into public safety systems is a game-changer, enabling authorities to manage such large-scale events more effectively and ensure a peaceful conclusion.