by Fr. Leon Cruz Ratinam
Fr. Leon Cruz Ratinam and Orlene D'Cunha presented a paper on innovative ways of using crowd management (crowd control), crowd sourcing and GIS (Geographic Information System) techniques towards a comprehensive disaster management preparedness. The Chairperson of the session, Professor S Ninomiya, Deputy Director of the University of Tokyo, Japan, was quite appreciative of the presentation. At the conclusion of the conference, Fr. Leon Cruz Ratinam and Orlene D'Cunha were awarded the 'Best Paper' prize of the conference.
The paper presentation comprised of a proposed system framework for real time monitoring of crowd density using video surveillance system combined with GIS technologies, network analysis and crowd sourcing using the crowdmap of Ushahidi platform. The project which they worked and presented is currently being developed into the Centre for Disaster Management (CDM), Pune, for the forthcoming Kumbh Mela which will be held in Nashik.