Maha Kumbh 2025: Prayagraj Police Commissioner visits akharas, interacts with sadhus regarding security arrangements

Prayagraj (Uttar Pradesh) [India], January 5 (ANI): As preparations for Maha Kumbh 2025 are underway, Prayagraj Commissioner Tarun Gauba visited different akharas on Sunday and had words with sadhus and saints regarding the arrangements.
Commissioner Gauba told ANI that the police will be using underwater drones to monitor any kind of security intervention and meet disaster management needs.
"We are visiting different akharas and establishing contact with sadhus and saints here...We are checking whether the arrangements are fine...We are in communication with all the stakeholders here and we are ensuring that all the security arrangements are in place...We have an underwater drone to monitor any kind of security intervention and meet disaster management needs," he said.
Police along with other security forces also carried out security checks and did area domination patrolling on Sunday.
Jagdish Kaliraman, ACP Parade Area Kumbh said that following the instruction of senior officials they are constantly making checks and also doing a thorough interrogation of the suspects.
"Senior officials keep giving us instructions regarding Maha Kumbh 2025. Yesterday DGP took our meeting...we are doing security checks constantly at the parade point as the public will enter and exit from this point only. So it's become a sensitive point and manual checking and checking with equipment keeps on going.... we are also doing checks at the district hospital where people keep coming for health check-ups, " said the ACP.
"If we find someone suspect, we do a thorough check, and subsequently, the state police from the suspect are contacted by our SP Kumbh, and if a criminal record is found arrest is done and further action is taken," he added.
Detailing about today's checking Kaliraman said, "Today we did the area domination patrolling along with the CRPF and PAC. We had teams of local police station and bomb disposal squad as well.
Meanwhile, Prayagraj Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Rajesh Dwivedi said that full arrangements have been made for the devotees attending the Mela.
Speaking to ANI, SSP Dwivedi said, "Since all the people are going to take a bath, full arrangements have been made. There are all boats, speedboats, water police, divers, life jackets and along with this there is deep water barricading."
SSP Dwivedi said that all cameras have Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) software to verify the vehicle number in real time. "All cameras have Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) software, which we will use at tolls and parking lots. It has automatic number plate recognition so that we can verify the vehicle number in real time. We have an anti-drone system," he said.
SSP Dwivedi said 27,000 AI-powered surveillance cameras have been installed for real-time monitoring of the Mahakumbh Mela. "We have installed 27,000 cameras, the feeds from which will continuously come in. This will help us manage everything. The system also includes AI, where we have set parameters such as crowd density, crowd flow, barricade jumping, and crowd coinciding. All this information will be provided to us in real-time," he said.
SSP Dwivedi said that face recognition software will be used to identify people with criminal backgrounds. "We also have facial recognition software, which will be installed in cameras at strategic locations. The data from these cameras will be matched with our database," he said.
He also said that traffic and pilgrim movement plans have been designed in such a way that people will enter from one route and exit from another.
The Maha Kumbh held once every 12 years, is scheduled to begin on January 13 and conclude on February 26 in Prayagraj.
The main bathing rituals, known as the Shahi Snan (royal baths), will take place on January 14 (Makar Sankranti), January 29 (Mauni Amavasya), and February 3 (Basant Panchami). (ANI)