Mahakumbh Hackathon
Build for the Nashik Kumbh Mela, with the Government of Maharashtra
The Mahakumbh was organised in Prayagraj in 2025. The next Kumbh Mela comes to Nashik, Maharashtra in August–September 2027 — and the planning starts now.
Working from the Western Regional Centre (WRC/ICSSR) call for research on *Learnings from Organization of Mahakumbh*, this hackathon puts student teams on the same twelve problems. Selected teams work directly with the Government of Maharashtra, and their output is submitted to the state for the organisation of the Kumbh Mela.
How it works
- Teams of exactly 2. One person registers for the team and is the contact for everything after.
- You pick one of the 12 problem statements below when you register.
- 3 teams per problem statement — 36 teams in total. A statement closes as soon as it has 3, so the live count next to each one below is what's actually left.
- Your written approach still matters — it's what the panel reads first. Register early for the statement you want.
What to bring
Your own laptop. Bring anything you've already read on crowd management, civic planning or the 2025 Mahakumbh — the strongest submissions are the ones that start from real material rather than from scratch.
Open to KJSIT students across all departments and years.
Problem statements
12Pick one when you register. Teams are not reassigned afterwards. Each statement takes 3 teams, and closes once it's full.
Problem statement 1: Finance aspect of Mahakumbh
What it costs to run, where the money comes from, and what it returns to the region.
3 of 3 places left
Problem statement 2: Planning and organization of Mahakumbh
How an event on this scale is sequenced, staffed and coordinated across agencies.
Full — 0 places left
Problem statement 3: Critical analysis of the supply chain issues in Mahakumbh
Moving food, water, fuel and materials to a city that exists for six weeks.
Full — 0 places left
Problem statement 4: Management of transportation during Mahakumbh
Rail, road and pedestrian flow for crowds that arrive in waves, not evenly.
Full — 0 places left
Problem statement 5: Planning for important aspects such as Shahi Snan (शाही स्नान)
The peak-density days, when everything that can go wrong does so at once.
2 of 3 places left
Problem statement 6: Human resources planning regarding the Mahakumbh
Recruiting, training and rostering tens of thousands of temporary workers.
2 of 3 places left
Problem statement 7: Role of local government in Mahakumbh
What the municipal layer owns, and where it hands off to the state.
3 of 3 places left
Problem statement 8: Life experiences of visitors to Mahakumbh
What the event is like from inside the crowd — access, safety, dignity, cost.
Full — 0 places left
Problem statement 9: Science / Scientific angle of Mahakumbh
Water quality, sanitation, public health and environmental load on the river.
2 of 3 places left
Problem statement 10: Role of Social Media in organizing, managing Mahakumbh
Crowd information, rumour control and reaching people already on the move.
Full — 0 places left
Problem statement 11: Role of AI in organizing, managing Mahakumbh
Crowd sensing, forecasting and decision support for the people running the ground.
Full — 0 places left
Problem statement 12: Any other topic in the aspect of Mahakumbh
Bring your own. Make the case for it in your approach — this one is judged hardest.
2 of 3 places left