Lord Venkateswara Temple at Tirumala | Photo Credit: File photo
The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) is set to become the first religious institution in the country to introduce Facial Recognition Technology (FRT) for pilgrim-related activities.
The technology will be introduced on a pilot basis from March 1 at the second Vaikuntam queue complex through which common pilgrims gain entry to the Lord Venkateswara Temple at Tirumala and all other allied Accommodation Management Services (AMS) systems.
Besides increasing transparency in token-less darshan system, allotment of cottages and guest houses, FRT will help in checking impersonation.
The technology will not only ensure that the security deposit is returned to the pilgrims, but also thwart illegal attempts to obtain more Sarva Darshan tokens.
“TTD is all set to introduce facial recognition technology on an experimental basis in Vaikuntham 2 and AMS systems from March 1,” said a temple official.
As part of this new initiative, TTD Chief Vigilance and Security Officer (CVSO) D. Narasimha Kishore said that at the entry point while enrolling for Darshan to match with the data bank to prevent impersonation and services Photograph of each pilgrim will be taken. Misuse.
After the first visit, that particular pilgrim can be easily identified during every subsequent visit.
“When he (pilgrim) enters the temple for the second time, the man will be screened with facial recognition. When he stands in front of the camera and his picture is captured then the same data is sent to the (bank) and if the same ticket matches then he gets the permission. Otherwise it will attract impersonation (allegations),” Mr Kishor said.
Other supplementary benefits include trace tracing of a missing person in the temple premises, non-abuse of laddu (sweets served as prasadam) distribution, elimination of impersonation, identification of devotees and others Quick verification included.
“Checking of a devotee will be very fast. Earlier we used to check with Aadhaar card, take and enter personal details manually. Now impersonation status will also be saved… Action will be initiated, there is a proof. This A great achievement if it is hundred per cent successful,” said the senior Indian Police Service (IPS) officer.
On successful integration of this technology, once the pilgrim enters Tirumala, he/she is in the digital realm of the temple management. All 3,000 cameras can capture all the devotees.
“After recognizing their (devotee) face at the time of enrolment, you can check the person at the entry point. Next when he is going to visit. A token of Prasad will be given. There it can be examined. From there he goes for Prasad, there also we can investigate.
According to a senior police official, biometric identification using iris and fingerprints is 100% foolproof as facial recognition is sometimes only 60% accurate.
After measuring the efficiency, the chief security officer of TTD feels that it can also be integrated into the surveillance camera command control system of one of the richest Hindu temples, which attracts around 1 lakh visitors a day.
Meanwhile, Sandeep of TTD’s IT wing assured that the data generated and mapped for facial recognition is free from outside interference, given its secure nature at TTD’s local data centre.
“It is stored in our data center only. It is not kept outside the TTD premises. Second thing is that this is an intranet application. It is not an internet application,” he said.
In addition, the data center of TTD is strong with disaster recovery facility located at Tirumala Arjitham office. He claimed that the public or the outside world cannot access this data.
(With inputs from PTI)