Odisha Police using drones, AI cameras to control huge rush of devotees to witness Suna Besha

Puri, Jul 6 (PTI) With lakhs of devotees visiting Puri to witness the ‘Suna Besha’ (golden attire) of Lord Jagannath in chariot on Sunday, Odisha Police said it is using drones and AI cameras to control the crowd and cautioned people to make plans accordingly and abide by the traffic advisory issued.

ADG (Traffic) Dayal Gangwar said that the vehicle inflow from Bhubaneswar towards Puri is constantly on the rise. Therefore, dynamic diversion is being done for vehicles to ensure minimum waiting time at Batgaon/Maltipatpur. “Present waiting time at Batgaon is around 20-30 minutes,” he said while appealing to devotees to follow traffic advisories and cooperate with police personnel on duty.

Law Minister Prithiviraj Harichandan said: “We are expecting a turnout of about 15 lakh people on the occasion of Suna Besha. Last night alone, about 2 lakh devotees had darshan of the deities on chariots. The administration is alert and aware of the situation and taking required measures to control the crowd,” the minister said.

According to the SJTA schedule, devotees can witness the Suna Besha rituals of the deities from 6.30 pm to 11 pm on Sunday.

In a ‘Suna Besha Yatra Alert’ the police said all the parking space in the pilgrim town has been occupied due to a large number of devotees reaching Puri throughout Saturday night to have darshan of Lord Jagannath.

“As parking spaces in the city are almost fully occupied, the vehicles are being directed towards Talabania and Sterling based on the availability of parking spaces. Waiting times at Batagaon/Malatipatpur may be longer,” the police said.

In view of the huge devotees inflow to Puri, Odisha DGP Y B Khurania himself is monitoring the crowd management from the Integrated Crowd Control Centre (ICCC) and urged people to follow the advisory.

“Devotees are requested to follow advisories and maintain discipline and order during the darshan period. Like Rath Yatra and Bahuda, police are using drones and AI-powered cameras to control crowds and regulate traffic. Adequate parking lots have been created in and around Puri,” Khurania said.

The officials said that there was a “non-stop flow of devotees to Puri on Saturday night as the deities remained on chariots and were open for darshan. “There was no ‘Pahuda’ (resting time) for deities on Saturday night and devotees got the opportunity to see them on chariots. Therefore, there was a huge rush,” an official of the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) said.

Servitors performed all the morning rituals on Sunday, while the sibling deities – Lord Balabhadra, Devi Subhadra and Lord Jagannath – were seated on their respective chariots.

The three chariots – ‘Taladwaj’, ‘Darpadalan’ and ‘Nandighosh’ – are parked in front of the ‘Singha Dwar’ (Lion’s Gate) of the 12th-century shrine after the completion of the deities’ nine-day annual sojourn.

The ‘Bahuda’ Yatra passed off smoothly on Saturday, amid unprecedented security and active cooperation of servitors, and the administration was on its toes to control the crowd for ‘Suna Besha’ rituals, the SJTA official said.

The police have enhanced security, crowd management and traffic control measures for the ‘Suna Besha’ rituals, following the death of three devotees in a stampede near the Shree Gundicha Temple on June 29, a senior police officer said.

SJTA chief administrator Arabinda Padhee has appealed to all stakeholders to actively cooperate for the smooth conduct of Lord Jagannath’s ‘Suna Besha’ rituals.