Worried about getting lost at Maha Kumbh? QR codes are now available at world's largest gathering to help you

Activated Google location to designating a specific landmark as a meeting point and personalised name tags with addresses are some of the unique ways to ensure that people are not separated from their known ones at the world's largest religious congregation Maha Kumbh in Uttar Pradesh's Prayagraj, according to a ToI report.

"Move over the 1970s' favourite Bollywood -lost-in-Kumbh potboiler. This is 2025 and nobody gets lost in Maha Kumbh," Uma Shankar from Pangara village in Banda, told ToI. She arrived in the Tent City along with his wife and 22-year-old daughter Annu Tripathi who was born with Down's syndrome. Annu wears a Kumbh lanyard with a QR code and the Google location on her phone has also been activated by her parents to guarantee her safety.

Key arrangements in place:

To manage the enormous gathering, the Uttar Pradesh government implemented several crowd-control initiatives, including 'Bhula-Bhatka' camps, police assistance centres and deployment of personnel on specially constructed watchtowers for the Mela.


These camps feature dedicated sections for lost women and children, along with 'Khoya-Paya' (Lost and Found) centres equipped with digital tools and social media assistance.

According to Uttar Pradesh Police, 10 such state-of-the-art digital 'Khoya- Paya Kendras' have been set up across the Mela area. Equipped with modern facilities, these centres feature waiting rooms, medical rooms and refreshment areas for women and children to provide immediate assistance to the devotees, officials said.

ADG Bhanu Bhaskar earlier said each centre is fitted with 55-inch LED screens connected to a public address system, which will display live updates about lost and found persons and items. The centres will also provide essential information on ghat arrangements and routes.

Bhaskar said information is also being shared via Facebook, X and WhatsApp to enhance the reach of locating missing persons and lost items, noting that the digital centres will assist in locating missing children, mobile phones, purses and other belongings.

The UP government, in its official statement, outlined the various efforts made to ensure the smooth conduct of the Mela. It emphasised that the 'Khoya-Paya' centres have been leveraging technology, including social media platforms, to locate separated individuals.

Meanwhile, police and volunteers at the ghats are working tirelessly to assist devotees and prevent major disruptions.

The Maha Kumbh Mela, being held after 12 years, expects a footfall of 40 crore to 45 crore visitors till February 26, according to UP government estimates.