Fwd: I.T. for The Lord! - Interesting article.

[Guest guest]

Dear Bhaktas,

 

Just read this interesting article about TTD, Tirupati. Hope You enjoy

it.

 

 

The easier way to reach god & A high fi IT implementation in State of

Andhra Pradesh

( one of the leading states in IT industry in India)

 

Balaji Temple at TIRUMALA in CHITTOOR district in ANDHRA PRADESH in is an

unusual institution. It represents a living tradition that spans many

millennia. Lord Venkateswara the presiding deity has devotees spread

throughout the world with an unparalleled diversity.

 

Recently TTD has attempted to use IT (Information Technology) to become

more " pilgrim friendly " . On Ugadi Day TTD launched " Sudarsanam " , an

innovative way of replacing " physical queue " with a " logical queue " . A

quick survey of the pilgrims indicated that the most irritating part of

their stay in Tirumala was the confinement in the compartments of the Q

complex. TTD has to maintain the " first in first out " queue discipline. The

Q complex was a great improvement over the long-winding single queue where

pilgrims had to stand for hours together often in scorching heat. Yet TTD

could only provide " limited freedom " in a compartment that would hold

about 400 to 500 people. To ensure queue discipline the pilgrims had to be

" locked in " which is not liked by many. The alternative that TTD conceived

is to move away from physical waiting to a logical waiting. Of course TTD

has to ensure queue discipline. That is where they took recourse to

information technology. In Sudarsanam, which was launched on an

experimental basis, devotees get a bar-coded identification tag in the form

of a wristband with TTD Logo. A process that takes about 20 seconds

generates the identification tag that carries the approximate time at

which the pilgrim is to report for darshan. Over the years TTD has

perfected the estimation algorithm that can precisely predict the waiting

time taking into account the duration when the darshan has to be stopped

for pooja, procession, break to accommodate special guests etc. Once the

pilgrim collects the identification tag, he/she is free to return to their

cottage, visit other temples, walk around or do whatever they deem fit.

The pilgrim is to report at the counter again at the time indicated in the

identification tag. A bar code scanner would quickly verify (in a process

that takes about two seconds) and lets him join the physical queue. In a

sense the pilgrim was in the " logical queue " between the time he/she left

the counter and the time he/she reported back. The real benefit of this

system is the " freedom " that the pilgrim enjoys in not being " locked "

inside the compartment of the Q complex. The cost of the operation in the

form of bar-coded identification tag is likely to be around one or two

rupees. Considering the benefits the cost appears to be reasonable. Bar

code as a technology is simple to use, inexpensive, rugged and

well-proven. The identification tag uses material that is water and dust

proof and yet not very expensive. The " business logic " that predicts the

waiting time will be embedded in the program that runs at the back-end.

The central computer controls the bar code generation and verification.

The system is scalable to handle peak loads of up to 75,000pilgrims in a

day. The front-end display and printing can be done by low-cost PCs

keeping the IT investments low. To cater to peak loads many PCs can be

linked up in the form of a network. Ultimately the Sudarsanam counters can

be distributed among many locations to avoid physical queue to collect the

identification tag. In fact some of the terminals can move all the way to

Tirupati at thefoot of Tirumala Hills and can multiply at bus stand,

railway station and near the cottage complex. Over the next few months the

system should see large-scale deployment with continuous mid-course

corrections to take

into account special problems. At TTD there are more such IT applications

in the pipeline thanks to TTD's vision of making the administration more

" pilgrim friendly " and a set of truly innovative officers who are currently

administering TTD. Sudarsanam represents the class of innovative and

native IT applications in the Indian context. There is nothing spectacular

about the technology deployed but the likely benefits to billions of

pilgrims are truly spectacular. What India needs today is a growing list of

such applications that truly benefit the citizens. Interestingly the

application was conceived neither by IT vendors nor IT professionals but by

innovative end-users, another lesson for all of us in IT.

 

The author teaches at IIM, Bangalore. He can be reached

at ss