Hyderabad: The Telangana government is set to deploy advanced Artificial Intelligence (AI)–based technologies, including geotagging and facial recognition systems, to ensure crowd management and security at the Medaram Sammakka–Saralamma Jatara, one of the world’s largest tribal festivals that attracts over one crore devotees.
Popularly known as the “Kumbh Mela of South India,” the Jatara will be held from January 28 to 31. Devotees from Telangana and several other states are expected to attend the mega religious congregation. To prevent children and elderly devotees from going missing in the massive crowds and to enable swift tracing if such incidents occur, the state government has introduced technology-driven monitoring systems.
As part of the ‘Medaram 2.0’ initiative, the police department is deploying the ‘TG-Quest’ AI-powered drone surveillance system to monitor nearly 30 square kilometres of dense forest areas, the Jampanna Vagu stream, and major access roads. In addition, helium balloons fitted with pan-tilt-zoom cameras will provide aerial surveillance, analysing crowd density and identifying potential stampede-prone zones in real time. A Command Control Centre at the Jatara site was inaugurated by Chief Minister Revanth Reddy following a high-level review of security arrangements.
Around 13,000 police personnel will be deployed under this enhanced surveillance framework. To address the issue of missing persons, the government has introduced a geotag-based tracking system in collaboration with Vodafone-Idea. At registration counters along the Pasra and Tadvai routes, details of children and elderly devotees will be recorded, and QR code-enabled geotags will be tied to their wrists. Scanning the tags will provide immediate access to personal details, enabling quick identification and reunification. The system, earlier implemented successfully at Sabarimala, will be used at Medaram for the first time. Registration will be available in Telugu, English, Hindi, and Tamil.
For law and order, 12 special crime teams have been formed. Facial recognition technology will be used at hospital premises and parking areas to identify known offenders, while a real-time alert system has been put in place to detect suspicious objects. To facilitate smooth movement and convenience for devotees, the government has arranged 37 parking facilities spread across 2,000 acres and set up more than 50 public announcement points across the Jatara area.