Deoghar: With the Shravani Mela set to begin on July 30, Deoghar district administration on Tuesday conducted a comprehensive briefing for magistrates, police personnel and officials deputed for the month-long pilgrimage, stressing vigilance, coordination and smooth crowd management during the peak rush of devotees.Addressing officials on the BEd college campus, deputy commissioner Saurabh Kumar Bhuwania said the first Monday of the Mela is expected to witness an exceptionally large influx of kanwariyas and called for complete alertness and disciplined execution of duties.“Managing such a massive crowd and ensuring the safety of pilgrims requires vigilance, discipline and teamwork,” he said, asking officials to carry out advance inspections of their deployment sites and immediately report any shortcomings.Emphasising the administration’s focus on ensuring hassle-free darshan, Bhuwania said uninterrupted queue movement would remain the top priority. “Every devotee should be able to perform jalarpan with ease. Our collective responsibility is to maintain a smooth flow of pilgrims while projecting a positive image of Jharkhand to visitors arriving from across the country,” he added.The DC also briefed the officials on the use of technology-driven interventions being introduced this year, including an AI-powered chatbot, AI-based feedback system, facial recognition cameras, head-count machines, heat management systems and a digital attendance mechanism to strengthen monitoring and improve pilgrim services.SP Praveen Pushkar directed officers and security personnel deployed from outside the district to familiarise themselves with local conditions to ensure effective crowd management and quick response during emergencies.Meanwhile, chief secretary Avinash Kumar also visited the Baba Baidyanath Temple and offered prayers along with his family.
