Mysuru: Deputy Commissioner G. Lakshmikanth Reddy told Star of Mysore that the District Administration had estimated that around 1.5 lakh to 2 lakh pilgrims would visit the Chamundi Hill Temple on each Ashada Friday.

“This was a significant logistical challenge. The primary objective was to prevent any stampede-like incidents, with measures taken to ensure smooth darshan despite minor hiccups typical of large events,” he said.

The DC also clarified that it was impossible to obtain exact visitor numbers without distributing individual tokens and that the AI camera data provided only an estimate.

He clarified that handling multiple events simultaneously was not an issue, as Police personnel were deputed from various districts to manage high-profile visits, such as that of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who came to Mysuru on Aug. 1, alongside local events.