Maharashtra, 24 July: ideaForge Technology Limited, India’s leading drone technology player has announced today the deployment of eight Q6 V2 drones to support the local police during the ongoing Pandharpur Wari, the annual 250-kilometre pilgrimage on foot that drew an unprecedented footfall of over 30 lakh (3 million) warkaris this year. This marks the second consecutive year that ideaForge has supported aerial surveillance for the Wari, building on its deployment during last year’s pilgrimage. The drones, each fitted with a megaphone attachment, are being used for aerial surveillance, crowd monitoring, and real-time public address to help manage the movement of pilgrims across the pilgrimage route.The Pandharpur Wari is a nearly 800-year-old annual pilgrimage in which millions of devotees, known as warkaris, walk roughly 250 kilometres to Pandharpur in Solapur district to seek the darshan of Lord Vitthal. The pilgrimage centres on the palkis (palanquins) of revered saints, most notably Sant Dnyaneshwar’s palki from Alandi and Sant Tukaram’s palki from Dehu, and culminates on Ashadhi Ekadashi, a day dedicated to Lord Vitthal and Rukmini. The main Yatra spans about 21 days, during which devotees walk together singing hymns and dancing, and this year drew an unprecedented footfall of over 30 lakh (3 million) warkaris, underscoring the scale of coordination required to manage the pilgrimage safely.
A gathering of this size, moving on foot across a 250-kilometre route over three weeks, presents a continuously shifting crowd-safety challenge that is difficult to track through fixed infrastructure alone. ideaForge’s Q6 V2 drones are providing continuous aerial oversight of pilgrim movement, while their integrated megaphone systems allow police personnel to issue real-time announcements and directions to crowds directly from the air helping guide pilgrim flow and respond quickly to congestion or safety concerns along the route.
The deployment was carried out in collaboration with ideaForge’s channel partner M/s Bluesky Amida Pvt. Ltd. and under the guidance of Shri Atul Kulkarni, SP Solapur Rural.
AI-based video analytics for the deployment are being integrated by Bluesky, adding an additional layer of automated crowd-monitoring capability to the live feeds. ideaForge is managing the underlying telemetry, back-end server infrastructure, and live-streaming of the drone feeds through its BlueFire Live platform, ensuring the police control room has uninterrupted, real-time visibility into on-ground conditions throughout the Wari.
The deployment builds on ideaForge’s ongoing work with police forces and public-safety agencies across India, supporting the safe and orderly management of some of the country’s largest religious gatherings through indigenous drone technology.
Ashesh Mathur, Assistant General Manager – Sales, ideaForge Technology Limited said: “A pilgrimage this old and personal needs technology that quietly protects it. When we first supported the Wari last year, we set out to show our systems could keep pace with a procession that moves every single day. This year, we’re returning as a partner the police department already knows and trusts and that familiarity means less time spent re-learning the route and more time spent watching it closely. Every year we do this, we understand a little more about how this pilgrimage moves, where the crowd tends to bunch up, where the terrain makes visibility harder, where a few extra minutes of warning can change how quickly help arrives. That knowledge is arguably the most valuable thing we bring back each year. With “Eyes in the sky” we make sure nothing on that 250-kilometre route goes unseen, so that the millions who walk it can focus on their faith and not on the risks around them.”