Chapter :10  Festival Ops: Behind the Scenes of Ganesh Utsav, Kumbh Mela & Durga Puja

Introduction

Festivals in India are not just cultural or religious gatherings—they are large-scale operations comparable to mega-events such as the Olympics or the World Cup. From the Ganesh Utsav in Maharashtra, where millions of idols are installed and later immersed, to Durga Puja in West Bengal, which transforms Kolkata into a city of artistic pandals, and the Kumbh Mela, the largest gathering of humans on Earth, the operations behind these festivals demand meticulous planning.

The Kumbh Mela 2021 (Haridwar) alone witnessed participation of over 9 crore pilgrims despite COVID-19 restrictions, involving massive arrangements in sanitation, health camps, security, and temporary township management. Similarly, Ganesh Utsav in Mumbai sees more than 2,00,000 idols installed annually, requiring careful transportation, immersion route management, and eco-friendly waste disposal. Meanwhile, Durga Puja 2023 in Kolkata was celebrated across over 43,000 registered pandals, engaging lakhs of artisans, decorators, and volunteers.

What makes these festivals unique is their temporary city model—a combination of religious devotion, urban management, logistics, and technology. Authorities must ensure crowd flow, traffic diversion, disaster preparedness, eco-waste disposal, medical support, and volunteer coordination. Private players, NGOs, and local communities also become co-managers of these festivals.

In operational terms, Indian festivals present case studies of event management at a scale unseen anywhere else in the world—with challenges of faith, environment, and urban stress combined into a few days or weeks of heightened activity.

Data Snapshot: Scale of Major Indian Festivals

Festival/Event	Key Location(s)	Estimated Visitors (Annual/Edition)	Major Ops Challenge	Scale of Setup
Ganesh Utsav	Maharashtra (esp. Mumbai, Pune)	2–3 crore people over 10 days	Idol transport & immersion logistics	2,00,000+ idols, 10,000+ immersion points
Durga Puja	West Bengal (esp. Kolkata)	4–5 crore visitors across state	Crowd & traffic flow, fire safety	43,000+ pandals, 1 lakh+ artisans involved
Kumbh Mela (2021)	Haridwar, Prayagraj, Ujjain, Nashik (rotational)	9 crore pilgrims (Haridwar 2021)	Sanitation, medical aid, crowd control	250 km² temporary city, 100+ hospitals, 50,000+ security staff

Operational Parameters of Indian Mega-Festivals

Managing India’s largest festivals requires an operations framework similar to running a temporary city. Each festival carries its own cultural uniqueness, but when studied from a management lens, common operational parameters emerge. Below, we analyze the key parameters across three of the biggest festivals: Ganesh Utsav, Durga Puja, and Kumbh Mela.

 

1. Infrastructure & Temporary City Setup

Festivals like the Kumbh Mela demand the creation of entire temporary townships. At Haridwar 2021, the mela area stretched across 250 square kilometers, with 10,000+ tents, sanitation units, and makeshift markets. Similarly, Durga Puja in Kolkata transforms urban landscapes into thousands of pandals, while Ganesh Utsav reconfigures Mumbai’s open spaces, beaches, and traffic routes.

Data Snapshot:

Festival	Temporary Setup Scale	Example Data (Latest Editions)
Ganesh Utsav	Temporary pandals, immersion tanks, traffic diversions	2,00,000+ idols, 10,000 immersion points in Mumbai
Durga Puja	Art installations, pandals, electrical wiring, fire exits	43,000+ pandals in Kolkata 2023
Kumbh Mela	Township with tents, hospitals, police stations, markets	250 km² temporary city, 100+ hospitals

 

2. Transportation & Logistics

The scale of idol transportation in Ganesh Utsav is massive. Idols, often weighing up to 30 tons, must be safely carried from workshops to pandals and later to immersion points. For Durga Puja, logistical challenges include moving gigantic idols and decorative structures through congested Kolkata streets.

Kumbh Mela adds another dimension: moving crores of people from railway stations, bus depots, and ghats to bathing areas. The Indian Railways runs special trains, while traffic police enforce diversions to manage pilgrim inflows.

Operational Example: In Kumbh 2019 at Prayagraj, 5,000 buses and 500 special trains were deployed to move over 24 crore pilgrims during the festival’s peak days.

 

3. Crowd Flow & Security Management

With millions of participants, crowd safety is a critical parameter. In Kumbh Mela, where stampedes were historically common, modern strategies like RFID wristbands, drone surveillance, and CCTV networks are deployed. Durga Puja sees huge pandal queues; organizers employ volunteers, barricades, and time-slot entry systems. Ganesh Utsav immersion days require marine police, cranes, and lifeguards at beaches to ensure safety.

Data Snapshot:

Festival	Estimated Crowd per Day (Peak)	Security Deployment
Ganesh Utsav	25–30 lakh (Mumbai immersions)	30,000+ police staff
Durga Puja	10–12 lakh (Kolkata daily)	25,000+ police staff
Kumbh Mela	50–70 lakh on peak snan days	50,000+ security, 500+ drones

 

4. Sanitation & Waste Disposal

Eco-waste management is a pressing challenge. In Mumbai, Ganesh idol immersion earlier caused massive water pollution due to Plaster of Paris (POP). Recent eco-operations include clay idols, artificial tanks, and recycling of floral waste. Kolkata’s Durga Puja faces disposal challenges of decorative materials, thermocol, and plastics. Municipal corporations deploy special vehicles for 24x7 garbage clearance.

At Kumbh Mela, 15,000+ sanitation workers are deployed. 1.2 lakh toilets were set up at Prayagraj Kumbh 2019 to avoid open defecation. The Swachh Bharat Mission partnered with mela authorities to ensure daily waste collection of 800 metric tonnes.

 

5. Health & Emergency Services

Every festival has emergency medical preparedness as a core operational requirement. In Kumbh Mela 2021, authorities built 100 hospitals, 250 dispensaries, and 50 mobile health vans. Epidemic prevention is critical, as millions share common water sources.

In Durga Puja, fire safety is essential due to electrical wiring in pandals. Fire brigades maintain emergency vehicles near high-footfall pandals. Ganesh Utsav immersions require ambulances and rescue boats stationed near beaches.

 

6. Volunteer & Human Resource Management

Festivals run on community participation. Ganesh Mandals and Puja Committees mobilize thousands of volunteers for traffic control, decoration, and first aid. At Kumbh, the Seva Samitis (volunteer groups) manage pilgrims, distribute food, and guide crowds.

Operational Example: At Prayagraj Kumbh 2019, 20,000 volunteers were officially registered, in addition to lakhs of sadhus and NGOs providing informal support.

 

7. Technology & Digital Operations

Technology has become central to festival ops. Kumbh Mela authorities now use AI-powered crowd density mapping, GPS for vehicle tracking, and mobile apps for pilgrims. Ganesh Utsav and Durga Puja have adopted digital darshan—livestreams for devotees unable to attend physically.

Recent Example: In Kumbh 2021, a mobile app provided real-time crowd updates, ghat maps, and emergency helplines.

 

8. Financial & Economic Impact

Festivals also generate massive economic activity. Ganesh Utsav contributes nearly ₹20,000 crore annually to Maharashtra’s economy through idol-making, decoration, sweets, and tourism. Durga Puja adds ₹50,000 crore to West Bengal’s GDP, as estimated by British Council in 2023. Kumbh Mela 2019 generated an economic value of ₹1.2 lakh crore, employing lakhs of people in services, crafts, and trade.

 

Data Staff Table: Resource Deployment in Festivals

Parameter	Ganesh Utsav (Mumbai)	Durga Puja (Kolkata)	Kumbh Mela (Haridwar 2021)
Idols/Pandals/Tents	2,00,000+ idols	43,000+ pandals	10,000+ tents & akharas
Visitors (Peak)	3 crore+	5 crore+	9 crore+
Security Staff	30,000+	25,000+	50,000+
Medical Units	500+ ambulances	200+ fire stations	100 hospitals, 250 dispensaries
Sanitation Workers	5,000+	8,000+	15,000+
Waste Collected Daily	500 MT	700 MT	800 MT
Volunteers	50,000+	1 lakh+	20,000 registered + NGOs

 

Indian festivals are operations marvels that balance devotion and logistics. The scale of resources—from 2 lakh idols to 9 crore pilgrims—demands meticulous planning across transportation, sanitation, health, security, and technology. The eco-transition towards sustainable idols, recyclable decoration, and digital darshan represents the future of festival operations.

Festivals like Ganesh Utsav, Durga Puja, and Kumbh Mela are not merely cultural celebrations—they are living case studies in event management, urban operations, and human resource mobilization, offering lessons that extend beyond faith into the domains of management science and sustainable development.

Case Study

Prayagraj Kumbh Mela 2025: Managing Faith, Flow, and a Temporary Megacity

 

The Story Begins

1. January 13, 2025. As the first rays of sunlight fell over Sangam, where the Ganga, Yamuna, and invisible Saraswati meet, millions of devotees had already gathered. The air was thick with chants, smoke of incense, and the energy of faith. For pilgrims, it was a sacred dip; for administrators, it was the beginning of a logistical marvel.
2. The Kumbh Mela 2025 at Prayagraj was projected to host 250 million visitors over 45 days—almost four times the population of Germany. The challenge: build a city, run it efficiently, and dismantle it—all within months.
3. Planning started in 2023. The Uttar Pradesh government, together with central agencies, created a special Mela Authority. Experts from engineering, health, sanitation, crowd science, and disaster management worked together, simulating “what-if” scenarios for stampedes, water shortages, and disease outbreaks.

 

Building the Temporary City

4. By December 2024, the banks of the Sangam had transformed into a sprawling tent city. Over 40,000 tents were erected, organized into sectors like mini-neighborhoods, each with water, electricity, fire safety points, and police posts.
5. Engineers built 18 pontoon bridges across the Ganga and Yamuna. These floating bridges were not just symbolic—they were arteries of crowd flow, designed to carry nearly 3 million people per day.
6. The mela’s chief engineer explained:

“Think of it as urban planning on steroids. Roads, drainage, water pipelines, everything must work—but it must also disappear once the mela ends.”

7. A real-time GIS monitoring system mapped crowd density, vehicle movement, and water supply points. AI-driven CCTV cameras alerted control rooms if one sector became overcrowded.

 

Crowd Flow & Pilgrim Safety

8. The main challenge was managing crowd surges on auspicious bathing days. Mauni Amavasya (February 1, 2025) was expected to draw 50 million people in one day.
9. To prevent stampedes, authorities used zonal crowd flow models. Pilgrims were directed in one-way loops toward the ghats, while return routes diverted them through wider roads.
10. Volunteers, drawn from NSS, NCC, and local NGOs, acted as the human face of operations. Wearing saffron jackets, they guided pilgrims, carried children lost in the crowd, and used loudspeakers to calm people during peak hours.

 

Health & Sanitation

11. With millions living in close quarters, the health dimension was critical. Over 150 hospitals and health camps were set up, staffed by doctors from across India. Special isolation wards for infectious diseases reflected lessons learned from COVID-19.
12. Over 40,000 toilets were installed, cleaned by a workforce of sanitation staff working 24/7. The Ganga’s purity was safeguarded through eco-friendly soap distribution and bio-degradable offerings kits for pilgrims.
13. A medical officer noted:

“One outbreak of cholera or flu could bring this city down. Prevention is not a choice—it’s our only option.”

 

Waste & Eco-Management

14. The Mela generated 1,200 metric tons of solid waste per day. Waste management became a festival in itself. Green volunteers collected waste at ghats, while robotic cleaning boats skimmed the Ganga to collect flowers and plastic.
15. Segregation bins were color-coded. Organic waste was composted in 30 on-site plants, while plastic waste was sent for recycling to nearby hubs in Kanpur.

 

Digital & Tech Integration

16. For the first time, pilgrims downloaded a “Kumbh Darshan App”, which showed crowd density heatmaps, bathing schedules, and lost-and-found tracking.
17. RFID tags were given to senior citizens and children. If someone got separated, control rooms could track their last known movement.
18. Drone surveillance ensured that large akharas (processions of saints) moved smoothly, while live feeds were shared with television channels globally.

 

The Human Side

19. Despite the massive machinery, the mela was also about people. Ram Singh, a farmer from Rajasthan, who had saved for three years, said,

“When I stepped into the Sangam, I felt I was reborn. I don’t know how they manage such a crowd, but everything seemed in God’s hands.”

20. Behind the scenes, it was less divine and more disciplined. Over 200,000 staff—police, engineers, sanitation workers, and volunteers—worked like a human machine.

 

Teaching Notes & Analysis

21. The 2025 Prayagraj Kumbh shows that operations management in religious festivals is equivalent to managing a megacity. It involves:

• Capacity Planning: Estimating flows of 50 million per day.
• Queuing & Flow Design: Avoiding bottlenecks at ghats and bridges.
• Health & Risk Management: Ensuring zero outbreaks.
• Technology Integration: Real-time crowd monitoring, apps, drones.
• Sustainability: Waste segregation, eco-kits, Ganga preservation.

22. A data staff table illustrates the scale:

Operation Parameter	Scale at Kumbh 2025
Visitors (total)	250 million
Peak day crowd	50 million
Pontoon bridges	18
Tents erected	40,000+
Toilets installed	40,000+
Hospitals & health camps	150
Waste generated/day	1,200 MT
Sanitation staff	30,000+
Security personnel	70,000+
Volunteers	50,000+

23. From a management education perspective, the Kumbh Mela can be used to teach:

• Operations & Supply Chain (temporary setup and dismantling).
• Disaster & Risk Management (crowd safety, health emergencies).
• Public Policy & Governance (inter-agency coordination).
• Sustainable Development (green waste practices).

24. Discussion Questions:

• How can operations at Kumbh Mela be scaled to other mass events like the Olympics or Hajj?
• What role did technology play in balancing faith with safety?
• Can such temporary urban models teach us lessons for refugee camps or disaster rehabilitation zones?

25. In the end, the Prayagraj Kumbh 2025 was not just a festival—it was a live classroom for management, engineering, sociology, and spirituality. For every pilgrim, it was a sacred dip. For every planner, it was proof that with the right parameters, even 250 million people can move in harmony.

Mini Cases from the Prayagraj Kumbh Mela 2025

Case 1: The Day of the Shahi Snan – Crowd Flow Management

It was 14 January 2025, the day of Makar Sankranti, and millions thronged the Sangam. At 3 a.m., the control room lit up with red signals on the crowd density dashboard. “Sector 7 is reaching threshold,” the AI alert blinked. Within minutes, barricades were rearranged, one ghat was temporarily closed, and loudspeakers guided pilgrims toward alternate bathing sites. Drones provided aerial visuals to confirm movement. This real-time crowd diversion prevented what could have become a deadly stampede. The incident showed how IoT sensors, drones, and predictive models had become as important as police whistles.

Teaching Note: This case highlights crowd flow as a supply chain of humans, where bottlenecks can be anticipated and resolved through data-driven decisions.

 

Case 2: Sanitation Warriors of Sector 12

At dawn, Sector 12 smelled of incense and ghee lamps—but by afternoon, the refuse of lakhs of pilgrims piled up. Sanitation head Savita Devi mobilized her 500-member team with tractors, vacuum cleaners, and portable bio-toilets. By evening, 350 tons of waste had been collected and sent to composting units. Savita told her team:

“The success of the Kumbh is not seen in photos of saints—it is seen in whether tomorrow morning this ground looks fresh again.”

The team’s efficient work won them the name “Sanitation Warriors” in the local media.

Teaching Note: This case shows the link between operations and sustainability, turning a massive waste problem into circular resource management.

 

Case 3: The Bus That Never Stopped

A group of pilgrims from Madhya Pradesh boarded a special shuttle bus from Jhunsi station. The bus moved through traffic thanks to RFID-enabled traffic lights, which gave green signals to mela buses during peak hours. GPS tracking ensured that each bus completed at least 10 trips daily. An elderly pilgrim smiled:

“This time, reaching the Sangam was easier than reaching my own village.”

The seamless transportation grid meant over 20,000 buses, 8,000 e-rickshaws, and 200 ferries moved in rhythm like a giant orchestra.

Teaching Note: Transport operations at Kumbh reflect logistics synchronization, reducing congestion through tech-enabled priority systems.

 

Case 4: The Digital Darshan Innovation

Not all devotees could enter the crowded ghats. For them, the administration launched Digital Darshan Pods across Prayagraj. Inside, pilgrims experienced a 360° live-stream of the Sangam aarti with surround sound. Many elderly and disabled pilgrims wept with folded hands in front of the screens. For operations managers, this reduced physical load on ghats by 12%.

Teaching Note: This shows service operations innovation—managing demand virtually to ease physical constraints.

 

Case 5: The Volunteer Network

20-year-old engineering student Ankit was one of 70,000 volunteers. Assigned to the lost-and-found center, he reunited hundreds of families daily. One night, he stayed until 2 a.m. to help a child find her parents. The volunteer management team ran like an HR department of a giant corporation, providing training, schedules, and emotional support.

Teaching Note: Volunteer management here reflects human resource operations at scale, where motivation and empathy are as crucial as scheduling and task allocation.

 

Conclusion

The Prayagraj Kumbh Mela 2025 is not merely a religious event; it is the largest case study in operations management in the world. From crowd flow optimization and temporary city building to waste management, transport logistics, digital innovations, and HR coordination, every aspect mirrors the challenges of modern megacities—compressed into just two months.

Unlike corporate operations, where efficiency and profit are the goals, the Kumbh’s success lies in safety, inclusivity, faith, and sustainability. Each mini case demonstrates that operations management is not limited to factories or offices—it is lived, tested, and refined in the streets and ghats of India’s greatest gathering.

The Mela ends, but its lessons live on: how to manage chaos with order, faith with logic, and tradition with technology.