09-07-2025
Record-breaking Ashadhi Wari: AI-powered drones count over 27 lakh devotees
This year's Ashadhi Wari has officially set a new attendance record, with AI-powered drones deployed for the first time to estimate the number of pilgrims. According to Solapur rural police, the footfall on Ashadhi Ekadashi was between 27 and 28 lakh, captured through drone surveillance from 4 am to midnight on Sunday. The drones captured real-time footage which was then processed to generate an estimated headcount. (HT)
To ensure accuracy, the police had divided a 65-acre area in Pandharpur into four sectors and deployed six AI-enabled drones to cover key zones, including bridges, ghat sections, the pradakshina path, and temple premises. The drones captured real-time footage which was then processed to generate an estimated headcount.
'At certain points, over 2,000 devotees were seen crossing the entry bridges per minute,' an official said. Additional data was compiled using vehicle counts from 13 parking zones, multiple bus stands, and over 100 special trains arriving in the temple town. Officials recorded over 50,000 vehicles and more than 6,000 buses during the peak period.
All surveillance and coordination were managed through the integrated command and control centre set up by the Solapur Rural Police.
By early Monday morning, 95% of vehicles and pilgrims had exited Pandharpur, bringing the town back to its regular rhythm. 'The return journey on Monday morning was our biggest challenge,' said Atul Kulkarni, superintendent of police (SP), Solapur rural. 'We identified six major exit routes and deployed one Deputy SP on each. This helped manage the traffic smoothly and avoid any major mishaps.'
To further assist the flow, 100 GaMa commandos on motorcycles with public address systems were deployed along exit routes to guide pilgrims.
Despite the massive crowd, police managed to keep the event largely incident-free. Nine police help centres were established to assist pilgrims, particularly those who were separated from their groups or families. 'We received over 2,700 missing person reports, and nearly all were reunited with their families. The remaining 50–60 are still being traced,' Kulkarni added.
Disaster management teams and trained swimmers were deployed to guard the river areas, and no casualties were reported. A special 'Mauli Squad' kept watch for criminal activity among the crowd. Three police teams from Karnataka—Gulbarga, Bidar, and Bijapur—were also deployed to support the local effort.
While 10 cases of chain snatching were reported, police detained 180 suspects linked to various offences. Authorities enforced a one-way movement system on the pradakshina path and other high-traffic zones, such as the 'desert' area, to prevent overcrowding. Notably, no stampede-like situations or accidents were reported this year.
'The strategic use of AI and drones helped us better monitor the crowd and avoid the usual hold-and-release system at Namdev Payari,' Kulkarni said. 'There were no reports of pushing or stampede-like pressure. It was the most efficiently managed wari we've seen so far.'
