AI-enabled ‘Khoya-Paya Kendras’ help reunite lost family members at Mahakumbh Mela

Bivek Mathur
MAHAKUMBH NAGAR, Jan 24: In a first-of-its kind initiative, the Uttar Pradesh Government has established the digital Khoya-Paya Kendras (lost-found centers) at the Mahakumbh Mela in Prayagraj (Allahabad) to help reunite the lost people with their family members.
These centres use facial intelligence to notice people with similar faces among lakhs of individuals present in the Mela at the same time and then match these faces with the missing individual to finally differentiate and locate him/her with the help of emergency helpline numbers.

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According to a senior Uttar Pradesh Government official, the Khoya-Paya Kendras have been set up in 10 sectors of the Mahakumbh Mela and are equipped with reunion desks, waiting areas for men, women, and children, medical rooms, counselling facilities, and arrangements for food and lodging.
He said that there is a facility for the visitors to report the missing family member and for the missing individuals to reach the centres themselves.
Once a report is received, he said, announcements can be made across the Mela through loudspeakers, with digital tools such as social media and WhatsApp groups also being used to disseminate the information swiftly.
Another special feature of the Khoya-Paya Kendras, according to the UP Government official, is the facility of reporting an individual missing in different languages through loudspeakers.
“And this facility can be used both by the staff managing the Khoya-Paya Kendras and the family members of the missing individuals as the latter can also make announcements through loudspeakers to appeal their relatives for reunion,” he said.
A helpline number (1920) can also used by the family members of the missing individuals to appeal for help, the UP Government official said.
To make these centers easily identifiable, large balloons have been flown above them, he added.
“This digital initiative has significantly reduced the chances of permanent separations in the largest gathering of the world,” the official said.
Besides digital tools and technology, he said, thousands of police, paramilitary, NSG, ATS, and other security forces personnel have also been deployed in different sectors of the Mahakumbh Mela to help the people participating in the religious event.

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