ABSTRACT
Kumbh Mela is the world’s largest religious festival and attracts millions of pilgrims each year. Due to astronomical footfall, the mela had become infamous for its sanitation. In 2019, the Prayagraj Kumbh Mela came up with a smart sanitation project wherein the number of toilets was increased to 80,000. To monitor these, an IoT-based smart toilet monitoring system was developed that generated real-time feedback on toilet maintenance and targeted intervention.
The system received feedback in real time, processed it, and shot off targeted messages to the responsible ground personnel. The monitoring staff would walk over to the toilets at designated time slots, log in with their credentials, and give feedback on the sanitation condition. This way, the sanitation workforce targeted only unclean toilets and saved time as well as increasing their efficiency. The Kumbh Mela of 2019 was awarded the Guinness World Record for exceptional sanitation.
