As Special Superintendent of the Police for the Kumbh, Alok Sharma is responsible for dealing with the millions of crowds, the lost, the criminals and perhaps even terrorists that will come to the Kumbh.

A main concern will be ordering the traffic police, as with crowds of up to 30 million attempting to bathe in the same spot at the same time, serious diplomatic skills will be needed.

Alok has also brought the Kumbh into the 21st century with a new scheme to help the large numbers of children who are lost. Huge screens will display photographs of lost people to the crowds and Internet sites around the camp will communicate information on their whereabouts.

Rather than feel over-awed at his mammoth task, Alok believes it is a blessing to be policing the Kumbh and preaches this to his 20, 000 strong force.