E-Paper
Mahakumbh-2025: High-end CCTV cameras, AI to help manage crowd at nine Prayagraj rly stations
The Indian railway will install 713 CCTV cameras at nine railway stations in Prayagraj for the Mahakumbh-2025 religious fair to monitor and manage crowds. The cameras will be connected to control rooms and an AI system to assess overcrowding and potential trouble spots in real time. The railway plans to operate 1,200 special trains during the fair from all nine stations to prevent overcrowding at any one location. A gap analysis team has also been established to identify areas for improvement.
The railway is committed to ensuring safety of pilgrims and tourists during Mahakumbh-2025. To keep an eye on suspicious activities and also better manage the crowd at railway stations, the railway department will equip the areas inside, outside and surrounding the railway stations with a web of strategically located CCTV cameras.
A consensus has been reached on the proposal of using Artificial Intelligence (AI) and a network of high-end CCTV cameras in this regard. A total of 713 CCTV cameras will be installed at the nine railway stations of Prayagraj that would be handling the bulk of the visitors’ load during the religious fair, said railway officials.
Himanshu Badoni, the divisional railway manager (DRM), Prayagraj division of North Central Railway (NCR), said as part of the plan, the count of CCTV cameras from the present 107 would be increased to 245 at the Prayagraj junction, from 44 to 50 at Chheoki, from nil to 50 at Naini and Jhunsi stations, from 24 to 58 at Subedarganj, from 26 to 40 at Prayagraj, from four to 40 at Phaphamau, from 30 to 80 at Rambagh and from 24 CCTVs to 58 at Prayagrag Sangam railway station by the start of Mahakumbh-2025.
“So, 671 CCTV cameras would be installed at the nine railway stations of Prayagraj that will operate special trains for pilgrims while the remaining CCTV cameras would be installed at the main approach and exit ways of these railway stations for effective crowd management,” he added. Officials said under the Prayagraj Smart City initiative, AI-embellished CCTV cameras too would be installed and used to assess overcrowding and possible trouble spots in real time.
“For this, these AI-enabled CCTV cameras would be installed strategically, including one on each platform of these railway stations, and others in the circulating areas and main approach and exit ways as well. It has been decided to undertake a joint survey of railway and Prayagarj Smart City Ltd to identify the sites for installing these cameras so that they alert against any possible trouble like overcrowding etc,” said ADRM (general) Sanjay Singh, who is also the nodal officer from the side of railways for Mahakukmbh-2025.
The fact that these CCTV cameras would not only be connected to satellite control rooms at each of the nine railway stations of Prayagraj but also to the main control room at the Prayagraj junction as well as the Integrated Command and Control Centre located in mela area, the officials are confident that this would help in enabling them to make real time interventions to allow the crowd of pilgrims flowing in a controlled and well-managed way all through the 45–day fair.
Meanwhile, a Gap analysis team too has been set up by the railway and the Prayagraj district administration to identify areas on which further work needs to be done to better arrangement for the mela visitors. In a bid to prevent overcrowding at any single railway station of Prayagraj, the officials have decided to operate the proposed 1200 special trains during the Makakumbh-2025 from all nine main railway stations of Prayagraj.
As a result, the special trains for Kanpur route will run from Prayagraj junction and Subedarganj station, on Jhansi route from Chheoki and Naini stations, on Varanasi route from Rambagh and Jhunsi railway stations and Ayodhya-Lucknow route from Prayagraj Sangam, Prayag and Phaphamau stations as per the plan finalised for operating these special trains, officials said.
