In a first in the state, the Gujarat Police has deployed paramotoring to carry out aerial surveillance over Girnar Mountain in Junagadh where the annual Parikrama was held from November 22 to 27. According to Junagadh Superintendent of Police Harshad B Mehta, they came up with the idea after it became a challenging task for the police personnel to ensure safety of pilgrims inside the deep and dense forest with various blank spots of connectivity. On Monday, a video of the paramotoring surveillance by the police went viral on social media. In the video, a cop is seen holding a 360-degree zoom camera in his hand with an instructor behind him flying in the sky. He can be seen monitoring the traffic on the route and giving instructions to police camps posted on the ground to curb the rush to the hills during the heavy footfall witnessed during Parikrama when over 20 lakh people gather yearly to perform the annual pilgrimage. Gujarat police carrying out surveillance through paramotoring. (📸 - @NewsArenaIndia) pic.twitter.com/RlApnXw5lG— Indian Tech & Infra (@IndianTechGuide) November 27, 2023 “Throughout the Parikrama, there is no mobile network for the people because it is a deep and dense forest," Mehta told The Indian Express. “This is the first time we have done something like this (paramotoring). Even with drones, we can’t gauge the exact scenario. I started the trial myself. Two people can fly at a time, including the pilot and the officer. The private pilot comes from a tourism background working in Dwarka and he has a flying experience of 500 hours. We got the expertise from him. It was under trial like an experiment but it worked wonderfully,” he added. It was Mehta's idea to deploy paramotoring - a popular adventurous sport - for aerial surveillance in the forest that falls under a wildlife sanctuary. He claimed that it is the first time paramotoring was deployed for police surveillance in the country as well. “Despite the (existing) bandobast of police, the hills have uneven ups and downs with little cell network or a wireless network. At those points where we can’t monitor the crowd, we need to access the kinds of intervention (by using forces or facilitation) to ease the situation,” Mehta said. To mitigate the problem of lack of cell receptivity in the hills during the Parikrama, Mehta emphasised that more than 45 wireless-tagged police camps were placed in the route 200m to 500m away from each other. Moreover, at the peak of the Girnar Mountain near the Ambaji ropeway, they have a repeater (an automated radio station that extends the range of communications) to aid wireless network communication. “Before the Parikrama, we accessed the entire route walking on foot to understand the situation on the ground and make adjustments accordingly,” Mehta said. He also mentioned how the police require nearly three hours to reach the tricky deep forest areas and without any means of communication, it becomes incredibly hard and an “anxious” experience for the officials to ensure the safety of the civilians. The Parikrama pilgrims, visitors to the Bhavnath Mahadev temple and tourists all have only one road to access these places and hence, result in congestion, the Junagadh SP said explaining the challenges. On the benefits of using paramotoring as against drone surveillance, Mehta said, “We have limitations with drones. The forest falls under a wildlife sanctuary. The distance of the (Parikrama) route is around 36 kms, the capacity of the drone from wherever we start is a maximum of only 2-3 kms. But with paramotoring, we can do it over 60 kms and complete rounds as well,” he added. "However, with human intervention, I know where the deployments are being done." With the Parikrama ending Monday, the SP said he is planning to deploy paramotoring to monitor the coastal security of Junagadh. Girnar Parikrama, an annual pilgrimage around Mount Girnar - the tallest peak of Gujarat - draws lakhs of devotees from across the state and outside. Followers of Hinduism believe Mount Girnar is home to a number of Hindu gods and goddesses, saints and hermits and pilgrims undertake the pilgrimage on foot at the beginning of the new year of Hindu calendar every year. Traditionally, it used to be a five-day affair beginning from Dev Uthi Ekadashi (the 11th day of the month of Kartik in Hindu calendar) when pilgrims bathe in Damodar Kund and assemble at Bhavnath Taleti, the foothill of Mount Girnar. The pilgrim embark on the arduous 36-km-long pilgrimage at 12 am on Dwadashi and complete it on Kartik Purnima after halting for the night at Zeenabava Madhi, Malvela and Bordevi. Along the route are located four hills - Intva Ghodi, Malvela Ghodi and Nal-Pani Ghodi. They would carry rations for cooking their own meals and listen to Bhajans during the night in camps inside the forest of Girnar Wildlife Sanctuary. Of late, the pilgrimage has become a week-long affair as gates of the Parikrma route are thrown open three days in advance to tackle the rush of pilgrims. Also, charitable organisations are setting up annkshetras which serve free meals to pilgrims and many complete the pilgrimage within a day. This year, more than 12 lakh pilgrims are estimated to have gone on Parikrama.
