Crowd management goes hi-tech for Medaram

Medaram (Bhupalpally): Crowd management is no easy task, especially when it comes to Sammakka- Saralamma Jatara at Medaram which draws millions of devotees. The pre-jatara rush that crossed two lakh devotees at Medaram on Sunday (January 7) is considered an indication of how much would be the crowd during the time of Jatara. The officials estimate that the crowd could be nearly one crore for Sammakka- Saralamma Jatara which begins on January 31 and ends on February 3.

Despite the administration’s best efforts over the years to make the devotees’ biennial pilgrimage a hassle-free experience, traffic snarls on the busy Warangal-Medaram 100-km stretch are very common during the jatara. The 40-km long nightmarish traffic jam experience for about 12 hours on this road in 2014 is still afresh in the minds of devotees.

In a bid to overcome this problem, for the first time the administration has now decided to use hi-tech gadgetry such as crowd detection cameras, drone surveillance and variable message signs (VMS) to manage crowds during the Jatara. It may be noted here that VMS is an electronic traffic sign often used at arterial junctions to give travellers information about traffic congestion.

To ensure a better crowd management, the authorities have decided to install crowd control cameras at the Gaddelu (sanctum sanctorum) and all along the NH-163, the major road leading to Jatara. The traffic situation will be monitored by setting up a control room at Medaram. This apart, the parking areas will also be monitored through the CCTV cameras. If the parking lots are well occupied, the police will divert the vehicles to other places to avoid traffic chaos on the road.

“An android app that provides information about the Jatara, route, distance, parking space availability will be made available very soon. This apart, the devotees coming on private vehicles will be provided traffic information through VMS display,” said Superintendent of Police R Bhaskaran, who introduced drone camera surveillance, the first-of-its-kind in the State, in Bhupalpally town.

The crowd control cameras that take the headcount of devotees will guide the administration time to time in enforcing traffic regulations, he said. In addition to this, drone camera surveillance will also be used for the first time in Medaram jatara to monitor the traffic situation, he added. The imposition of one-way in 2016, however circuitous, worked somewhat better for the authorities in preventing traffic snarls.

This time around also, the administration has decided to implement the same plan. The vehicles heading to Jatara from Warangal have to take Pasra-Narlapur road to reach Medaram. Thereafter, there will be no going back. On return journey, these vehicles have to take Bayyakkapet-Bhupalapalli-Ganapuram-Parkal route. There will be no one-way restriction for the RTC buses.