State uses app for crowd control during Pandharpur pilgrimage

Maharashtra government uses NDMA's Incident Response System for crowd management at Pandharpur Wari pilgrimage with 15 lakh devotees.

MUMBAI: In a first, the Maharashtra government used the National Disaster Management Authority’s (NDMA) Incident Response System (IRS) to manage Pandharpur Wari, an annual pilgrimage dedicated to Lord Vithoba which concluded on Wednesday.

Solapur, Jul 17 (ANI): Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde being felicitated during the Ajanvriksha Jalarpan and release of the Information Leaflet, at Pandharpur, in Solapur on Wednesday. (ANI Photo) (Eknath Shinde-X)

As a long-standing tradition, chief minister Eknath Shinde, along with his wife Lata, offered prayers at the temple in Solapur district, which is located over 200 km from Pune. The temple town of Pandharpur sees thousands of warkaris (devotees) coming to take the blessings of Lord Vithoba or Vitthal.

This year, around 15 lakh warkaris visited the temple town for the occasion. “This makes crowd management extremely important,” said state relief and rehabilitation minister Anil Patil. “Thus, we implemented NDMA’s incident response system (IRS), which was formulated to deal with any crowd-associated event.”

The IRS is a management mechanism for command-based follow-ups. It reduces ad hoc measures in response and envisages a composite team with various sections to attend to all the possible response requirements, with designated officers to perform various duties. It also includes proper documentation of various activities for better planning, accountability, and analysis.

The Solapur district administration, in association with knowledge partner Palladium, has also fine-tuned the mobile application that was launched by the disaster management authority two years ago. It is meant for public use (for warkaris and residents of the area) during the Pandharpur Wari. It provides easy access to information about facilities and emergency services. All facilities and services are geo-tagged on the map.

Every year, as per the centuries-old tradition, followers of Sant Dnyaneshwar Maharaj and Sant Tukaram Maharaj, who preached the message of humanity in praises of deities Vitthal and Rukmini, carry the palkhi (procession) of the saints to Pandharpur till Ashadi Ekadashi.