Shravan: Varanasi welcomes 10 million pilgrims, manages chaos like pro
Varanasi just saw nearly 10 million people visit for the holy month of Shravan, but thanks to some smart planning—think drones, extra medical help, and traffic restrictions near Kashi Vishwanath Temple—the city stayed safe and surprisingly calm.
Control rooms and reserved highway lanes for kanwaris
Mondays were especially packed, with up to 7 lakh pilgrims arriving in a single day.
The city set up control rooms to keep an eye on things and even reserved highway lanes for kanwaris walking the Kanwar Yatra.
All this kept the crowds moving smoothly.
After the Kumbh, this was a piece of cake
After managing the massive Maha Kumbh earlier this year, Varanasi's police knew what to do—they treated pilgrims with respect and took extra steps when river levels rose, like barricading some ghats.
The result: a peaceful festival season without any major mishaps.