Page 44

CEP template 2012

Management team of Kumbh Mela 2013 wins CAPAM gold The state government of Uttar Pradesh in India won the Innovations in Government Services and Programmes category and overall gold medal at the Commonwealth Association for Public Administration and Management (CAPAM) 2014 International Innovations Awards for its management of Kumbh Mela 2013. The Kumbh Mela 2013 event was organised throughout January–March 2013 at Prayag-Allahabad in Uttar Pradesh, and is recognised as the biggest congregation of humanity at one place and at one time. During the Kumbh, millions of pilgrims typically converge at Prayag to take a holy dip and worship at Sangam where the Gangā, Yamunā and mythical Saraswati rivers converge. A shared vision for the Kumbh Mela management team was ‘to ensure a safe, secure and comfortable stay for the visitors’ and ‘to amalgamate technology and tradition in a seamless manner, preserving the sanctity of the Mela’. This innovative approach was realised by involving all relevant stakeholders in implementing the tenets of safe and honourable tourism. The management of Kumbh Mela 2013 was a massive undertaking, reflected by the sheer scale of operations: • The temporary Kumbh City, which served as the core of the festival, was spread over about 20 sq km • More than 174 km of roads suitable for motor vehicles were built on riverbeds using steel plates (termed ‘checkered-plate’ roads) • Eighteen pontoon bridges were placed across the river Gangā for convenient transportation • More than 650 km of pipelines, fed by 46 tube wells and five overhead tanks, provided 92 million litres of water per day • More than 900 km of power transmission lines provided a network of power connections, and featured more than 25,000 streetlights and a generator backup • Fourteen allopathic, 12 homeopathic and 11 Ayurvedic hospitals with 375 beds were staffed around the clock by specialised medical and paramedic staff. One hundred and twenty three ambulances and four river ambulances supported these facilities by delivering prompt medical attention • More than 30,000 individual toilets, including 3,400 seated conventional public toilets and 630 seated non-conventional zero-discharge toilets, were provided • One hundred and twenty four fair-price shops offered food grains, sugar, milk and kerosene oil to millions of pilgrims Key innovations associated with this initiative included dividing the core Kumbh City into 14 sectors that could function as selfsufficient administrative units with self-contained facilities. Provision of toilets and effective waste management were critical issues for Commonwealth Governance 42 Handbook 2014/15 The Uttar Pradesh festival is recognised as the biggest congregation of humanity in the world Revellers appreciated the quantity and quality of the water Celebrating innovation The CAPAM International Innovations Awards (IIA) are the only international awards that recognise and celebrate innovation in the public service through four categories: • Innovations in Public Service Management • Innovative Use of Technology in the Public Service • Innovations in Government Services and Programmes • Innovations in Citizen Engagement and Dialogue


CEP template 2012
To see the actual publication please follow the link above