Security and Surveillance at Large Religious Gatherings: Crowd Management Strategies for the 2025 Maha Kumbh Mela

Abstract

The Maha Kumbh Mela 2025 was the most significant religious gathering of devotion and faith in the world. Over 660 million devotees bathed in sacred rivers in pursuit of spiritual liberation. Security measures and crowd management are major challenges for large-scale religious events. This paper contributes to existing literature on crowd management by examining crowd disasters, their major causes, security measures, crowd behavior, and traffic management. It assesses the coordination among various stakeholders, capacity planning, and overall organization. The paper provides a framework for risk assessment, preparedness, safety, and resource management. Its goal is to reduce the risk of incidents and ensure the safety and security of devotees during spiritual mass gatherings. Additionally, this study can aid in event management and policy development for future large-scale events, focusing on effective security strategies and strategic crowd management planning.