AI, Mobile App, Radio Bracelets, and 2,000 Drones Deployed for World’s Largest Religious Festival in India, Hosting Over 400 Million People
The world's largest religious gathering has started in India today: for the first time in 144 years, the Maha Kumbh Mela festival is set to kick off, with a record number of more than 400 million people expected to attend, The Guardian reports.
Millions of Hindu devotees have gathered on the banks of the Ganges in India to mark the start of the Maha Kumbh Mela. The Kumbha Mela pilgrimage takes place every 12 years. The festival is considered the ‘greatest festival of all festivals’ in the Hindu religious calendar. It is attended by sadhus or holy people, ascetics, pilgrims and tourists. The celebrations will last 45 days in Prayagraj in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh.
This year's celebration is particularly significant as the Maha or Great Kumbh Mela only occurs once every 144 years, marking the 12th Kumbh Mela and a special celestial alignment of the Sun, Moon and Jupiter.
Considered by many to be a powerful and politically lucrative symbol of Hindu unity and power, this year's celebrations are expected to be the most expensive on record, backed by vast state resources and a huge PR campaign.
This year, significant efforts have been made by the authorities and organisers to introduce digital innovations to help solve some of the age-old problems of chaotic celebrations.
A dedicated Kumbh Mela mobile app has been created to help pilgrims navigate the 40-square-kilometre maze of temples, bathing places, food stalls, medical tents and stalls for the missing.
WhatsApp has launched an AI-powered chatbot in 11 languages to help answer any logistical and spiritual questions online.
To solve the age-old problem of pilgrims getting lost and separated, each pilgrim will be issued with a radio frequency bracelet to help find those who are missing.
Thousands of underwater and aerial drones will also be used to monitor the safety and movement of pilgrims. A light show involving more than 2,000 drones will illuminate the sky with tales from Hindu mythology.
