Jagannath Rath Yatra 2024: Iconic festival underway in Puri with help of AI technology
Image of Shree Jagannath Temple in Indian city of Puri.
The unique Jagannath Rath Yatra, also known as the Chariot festival, kicked off in theeastern Indian state of Odisha on Sunday (Jul 7). The festival believed to be as old as the Jagannath Temple in Puri, has seen the authorities deploy AI technology this year to better manage the crowd as millions of devotees gather to catch a glimpse of the deities and partake in the rituals.
Preparations for the security apparatus of the festival start months in advance as it is one of the biggest events of the year in India.
"This is the first time, as a pilot project, we are trying to use AI-based CCTV coverage where all those CCTV points which we have around 40 points where we have placed CCTV cameras. We would be using AI amalgamated with the CCTV system,"Additional DGP, Odisha, Dayal Gangwar was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
"We would also be using a drone system to identify the blind spots, identify the jam areas. We are also using drones along with the PA (Public address) system so that there are 4-5 identified spots every year where we normally face huge traffic jams and to help assist the police officers," he added.
According toPuri Superintendent of Police (SP) Pinak Mishra, as many as180 platoons (one platoon comprises 30 personnel) of security forces from both the state and central governments have been pressed into service to manage law and order.
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Watch |Odisha Rath Yatra 2024: All four gates of the famous Puri Jagannath Temple reopened
Rath Yatra
The festival has ancient origins and features raths (chariots) of Lord Jagannath (an incarnation of Lord Vishnu), his brother Balbhadra and his sister Subhadra. The festival, much revered in this part of the world, is celebrated to commemorate the divine siblings' journey from their paternal home to their aunt's home.
During the festival,deities are brought out of the Jagannath Temple and placed on their chariots amidst chanting and drumming.
The chariots are then pulled by devotees along the three-kilometre route to the Gundicha Temple, a journey that takes hours due to the large crowds and the ritual of pulling the chariots with ropes.
Notably,it takes skilled artisans several hundred man-hours to construct the three chariots, each made from specific types of wood.
(With inputs from agencies)