Nashik will begin trial operations for 1,500 CCTV cameras after Diwali as part of a 5,500-camera surveillance network being developed for the Simhastha Kumbh Mela 2027. The system is intended to monitor crowd movement, traffic flow and security arrangements across Nashik and Trimbakeshwar, with the first trials to be supervised from the Command and Control Centre at the Smart City office in Panchavati.
The Nashik Municipal Corporation has shifted attention to completing Kumbh-related infrastructure projects following the flag-hoisting ceremony for the mega religious gathering. Officials said testing the cameras already installed in the city would help identify operational gaps and allow agencies to refine crowd-management, security and traffic procedures before the event.
NMC commissioner Manisha Khatri said the civic body would soon begin testing around 1,500 cameras installed during the first phase. “In the first phase, we will conduct trials of around 1,500 CCTVs already installed in the city to check their operations through the Command and Control Centre. The cameras will also be used to implement and test crowd-management standard operating procedures well in advance,” she told the Times of India.
Nashik Municipal Smart City Development Corporation Ltd is installing 5,500 cameras in total. Of these, 4,500 are planned for Nashik city and 1,000 for Trimbakeshwar. The surveillance network is being positioned as an integrated system for real-time monitoring, quicker emergency response and coordination among agencies responsible for public safety, traffic regulation and crowd control.
The cameras are being installed at locations expected to experience high footfall or traffic pressure during the Kumbh. These include Shahi Marg procession routes, Sadhugram, roads leading to Ramkund and the Godavari ghats, city entry points, designated parking areas and major road intersections.
The system is also dependent on an optical fibre network being built across the two urban areas. An official said around 355 kilometres of the proposed fibre network had been completed, while work on the remaining stretches was being coordinated with ongoing road and infrastructure projects in Nashik and Trimbakeshwar.
The trial phase will allow the civic administration to assess whether cameras are operational, whether feeds can be monitored consistently at the command centre and whether the planned standard operating procedures function across crowd, traffic and security scenarios. Officials said the exercise would be conducted well before the expected arrival of millions of devotees for the 2027 gathering.
The surveillance infrastructure is being developed not only for the duration of the Kumbh but also as a longer-term monitoring system for Nashik. Officials said the expanded network would remain available for routine city surveillance after the event, although its final operational arrangements and inter-agency procedures will be tested as the project progresses.
A dedicated timeline has been prepared for Kumbh-related projects, and officials said progress was being reviewed regularly to ensure that the infrastructure is completed before Simhastha Kumbh Mela 2027. The first CCTV trials are scheduled to begin after Diwali from the Command and Control Centre in Panchavati.
