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Railways to use video analytics, other tech for crowd control at stations during Kumbh
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SME Times News Bureau | 20 Nov, 2018
Indian Railways will use technology, including Artificial Intelligence
(AI), in a big way to tackle the massive rush of passengers to this holy
city during the upcoming Kumbh Mela -- for which it will deploy as many
as 800 special trains.
IBM Intelligent Video Analytics will be
pressed into service, a first for the Railways, for crowd control at
stations and its adjoining areas during the Ardh Kumbh Mela.
Kumbh
Rail Seva, a new mobile App, will soon be launched to disseminate
information to train users and others travelling to the world's largest
religious event, which is expected to attract over a 100 million people
-- a number higher than the populations of most countries on earth.
"We
have finalised the action plan for this Kumbh Mela taking all possible
factors into consideration," North Central Railway General Manager
Rajeev Choudhury told IANS.
With the 2013 stampede fresh in
mind, the national transporter is not leaving anything to chance and is
focusing mainly on crowd management at the main junction and its
adjoining stations.
"We will be using the technology in a
significant way to facilitate crowd movement in a smooth way," Choudhury
said, adding: "While IBM will provide video analytics service using
Artificial Intelligence for crowd control, there will be large number
powerful CCTV cameras to monitor the situation and LED screens for
displaying information."
Besides, social media will be extensively used for keeping the pilgrims updated on a real-time basis.
More
than 5,000 Government Railway Police (GRP) and Railway Protection Force
(RPF) personnel will be deployed to manage the crowd movement at 10
stations in and around the city, including Allahabad, Prayag, Prayag
Ghat, Jhunsi, Naini, Cheoki and Allahabad City.
The Kumbh Mela at
Prayagraj, the confluence of the Ganga, Yamuna and the mystical
Saraswati rivers, will begin from January 15 and conclude March 4, 2019.
Considered one of the largest gatherings of people in the
world, more than 100 million devotees and Hindu ascetics are expected to
attend the almost two-month-long Kumbh Mela to wash away their sins in
the sacred Ganga river.
According to the state government, 12
million pilgrims are expected on January 15 (Makar Sankranti), 5.5
million on Januray 21 (Paush Purnima), 30 million on February 4 (Mauni
Amavasya), 20 million on February 10 (Basant Panchami), 16 million on
February 19 (Maghi Purnima), and 6 million on March 4 (Mahashivratri).
Acknowledging
the size and grandeur of the congregration, Choudhury said: "It is no
doubt challenging to manage the rush at stations but we are confident of
making it a successful and smooth event."
Close coordination with state administration is another step that the Railways is pursuing to make the event a success.
Work
is underway to make operational a new platform, a foot-over bridge and
skywalks, among other infrastructure projects, at the stations to ensure
hassle-free movement of passengers.
He said the aim is to
decongest all possible crowded places so that people coming from
different directions can move towards the bathing ghats and return
safely. Each station will have its own traffic management plan.
The timings of 800 special trains will be published soon.
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