By Dr. Shruti Mantri and Ramesh Kotnana
The Kumbh Mela, a colossal confluence of faith and humanity, stands as one of the largest peaceful gatherings on Earth. For centuries, millions of pilgrims have converged on sacred rivers, seeking spiritual cleansing and communion. The Kumbh Mela, held every three years at four locations in India (Haridwar, Prayagraj, Nashik, and Ujjain), is a deeply significant religious event for Hindus.
Rooted in ancient mythology, the mela draws tens of millions of pilgrims, transforming the host city into a temporary metropolis of faith, culture, and community. The 2019 Kumbh Mela in Sangam City saw over 24 crore devotees. As of 26th February 2025, over 66 crore devotees have visited and offered prayers at the Kumbh Mela held at Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh. With the 2025 edition expected to welcome over fifty crore pilgrims, integrating advanced technology has become more critical than ever.
Maha Kumbh Nagar, Uttar Pradesh’s newest district, is a sprawling temporary city spanning 10,000 acres and accommodating up to 1 crore people at a time. It is being developed with state-of-the-art facilities in record time. The digitalization of land allotments includes an online portal, Maha Kumbh Land and Facility Allotment, providing access to land and facilities and digitized records for over 10,000 institutions spanning government, social, and religious organizations. However, the sheer scale of this event presents immense logistical and infrastructural challenges.
Crowd Management: The sheer volume of pilgrims necessitates meticulous planning to prevent overcrowding, stampedes, and other safety hazards.
Resource Allocation: Providing adequate sanitation, water, food, medical care, and security for millions of people is a monumental task.
Infrastructure Development: Temporary infrastructure, including roads, temporary shelters, and sanitation facilities, must be rapidly constructed and dismantled.
Communication & Information Dissemination: Keeping pilgrims informed about schedules, safety guidelines, and emergency procedures is critical, yet communication can be challenging in such a dense crowd.
Integrating digital technologies presents a transformative opportunity, enhancing the pilgrimage experience while addressing critical issues of crowd management, resource allocation, and accessibility. For the first time, Maha Kumbh has been transformed into Digital Maha Kumbh, redefining the spiritual experience for millions of devotes. Digital India has been our honourable Prime Minister vision for India and Digital Maha Kumbh 2025 embodies it. The Government digital initiatives have ensured smooth spiritual journey for millions of pilgrims visiting Maha Kumbh every day.
Enhanced Crowd Management and Safety: One key aspects of secure and safe Maha Kumbh are crowd management and safety. The use of AI powered solutions such as video analytics and mobile data to monitor the crowd in real time has facilitated the law enforcement and government officials to monitor the situation in real time and adjust crowd flow and resource allocation dynamically. The use of AI solutions has also facilitated safe travel and accommodations using digital bookings.
Smart Infrastructure: With advanced geo-tagging and GPS tracking, authorities have been able to keep a close eye on water levels, helping them predict and prevent potential flooding, ensuring everyone’s safety. Intelligent traffic management systems and smart lightening have helps traffic management officials to facilitate movement of pilgrims and reduce traffic congestion in real time.
Emergency Response Systems: The Integrated Command and Control Centres (ICCCs) serve as the nerve center for monitoring crowd movement, traffic, security, crowd control, and diversions. Cameras with number plate recognition and crowd monitoring are helping to manage attendees efficiently. There are 2,750 CCTV Cameras across the mela, of which 328 are AI-enabled. The CCTV cameras equipped with AI-powered video analytics monitor the movement of the devotees at large gatherings, making this the most extensive face recognition exercise ever in India helping law enforcement officials track real-time alerts to prevent stampedes, manage barricades, regulate traffic, and ensure. For the first time, underwater drones have been in action to monitor the Triveni Sangam, streaming live data to the command center with advanced imaging to enhance water safety.
Digital Ticketing and Registration: The government has facilitated online bookings through IRCTC’s business partners, Make My Trip and Goibibo to manage pilgrims’ entry, reducing queues and facilitating better crowd control. Indian Railways, Prayagraj Division launched QR code-based digital tickets on railway staff jackets and introduced a dedicated toll-free helpline, website, and the Maha Kumbh Mela App to enhance visitor services.
Smart Waste Management System: With over 50+ crore devotees visiting the Maha Kumbh, the government has ensured implementing of smart waste management systems to ensure efficient garbage collection and reduce environmental impact.
Advanced AI Chatbot for Devotees at Maha Kumbh: For the first time in history, pilgrims at the Maha Kumbh have an AI-powered chatbot, Kumbh Sah’AI’yak, that assists them in 11 languages 24*7. The State Government developed the Chatbot using Krutrim’s open-source large language model (LLM) to provide real-time information on rituals, locations, and facilities. Available on the Mela website, app, and WhatsApp, this Chatbot ensures one can get answers to routine questions like the time of the morning ‘snan’ or the nearest restroom.
Digital Khoya-Paya Kendras: The government has established ten state-of-the-art Digital Khoya-Paya (Lost and Found) Kendras across the Maha Kumbh area to ensure the safety of pilgrims. Mela Khoya-Paya Centre is an excellent example of technology-driven public service at a massive scale. As of Feb 03, 2025, the Khoya-Paya Centre has successfully reunited 13,000 missing individuals, with women accounting for 64% of those found, and as of Feb 28, 2025, the digital lost-and-found centers at the Maha Kumbh Mela have reunited over 54, 357 missing people. This initiative underscores the vital role such initiatives play in supporting vulnerable groups.
Smart Parking System: Park+, an Indian auto-tech company, has launched Prayagraj’s first innovative parking management system at the Maha Kumbh Mela. Park+ provides a seamless, hassle-free solution through its app-based platform enabling pilgrims to pre-book, prepay, and conveniently locate parking spaces in government-approved areas, ensuring a smooth experience amid the massive influx of visitors. Park+ managed more than 500,000 cars during the Maha Kumbh Mela by using 10,000 cameras and security personnel 24/7, seamlessly operating India’s largest open car parking space. The company could achieve a 91% reduction in wait times by leveraging AI. Over 20,000 vehicles were handled daily at peak capacity, with an astounding throughput of 300 cars per minute, setting a new benchmark in brilliant parking efficiency.
Blockchain-Based Digital Identity & Payments: For the first time in history, the world’s largest spiritual gathering has introduced the Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs), blending tradition with cutting-edge blockchain technology. Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation has collaborated with the blockchain firm Chaincode Consulting to create exclusive Maha Kumbh NFTs—digital collectibles that offer devotees a unique way to experience the event.
Maha Kumbh, which has attracted millions across the world, has reinforced India’s image as a spiritual hub. Digital Maha Kumbh has proved to be a powerful event that showcased India’s rich cultural heritage, spiritual ethos, organizational prowess, and digital capabilities.
Integrating digital technologies presents a transformative opportunity to enhance the Kumbh Mela, addressing longstanding challenges and making the pilgrimage experience more efficient, safer, and inclusive. The Kumbh Mela 2025 has emerged as a powerful case study on integration of ancient traditions with modern technology. Today, Kumbh 2025 is no longer just religious faith but it’s also about faith in modern technology.
The successful organization of Maha Kumbh 2025 for 45 days has set new benchmark in governance, smart city planning, crowd management, digital payments, and sustainable infrastructure. The Maha Kumbh digital model offers as unique case study to countries and organizations world-wide.
But it’s important to have a mindful balance between technological advancement and preserving deep rooted spiritual and cultural importance of such religious events. With the use of Responsible AI, ensuring privacy and security, a Digital Maha Kumbh Mela is a unique model for leveraging technology to deliver large-scale religious events and gatherings, representing sanctity of traditions.
This convergence of technology and faith can be used to facilitate other religious pilgrims and yatras such as Kedarnath Yatra, Amarnath Yatra ensuring a smooth and safe experience for the pilgrims.
About authors
Dr. Shruti Mantri is Associate Director, ISB Institute of Data Science, Indian School of Business. Her profile can be viewed here.
Ramesh Kotnana is Senior Manager, ISB Centre of Business Innovation, ISB. His profile can be viewed here.
