A tech-savvy Maha Kumbh: India aims for a safer religious festival

Maria Nițu

PRAYAGRAJ, India : Inspired by stories of families separated among the millions celebrating the weeks-long Maha Kumbh Mela, old Bollywood films often featured plots in which siblings got lost at the Hindu festival and were only reunited decades later. But as Sarita Singh discovered at this year's Maha Kumbh, or 'Great Pitcher Festival', things have changed. When she was separated from her son and mother-in-law, authorities turned to state of the art facial recognition technology to trace them.

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