Drone strikes fishermen’s livelihood with no compensation for damage to fishing nets

BHUBANESWAR: Even as defence officials recovered the remains of a drone from the seaside Talapada village in Balasore district, the fishermen who had netted it expressed dissatisfaction for not being compensated adequately.

They alleged that the officials did not pay heed to their genuine demand of compensation for the damage caused to their fishing net.

Indian Air Force (IAF) officials and the ground safety team of the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur rushed to Talapada and recovered the British-made drone Banshee from Raghunath Das, the owner of the motorised fishing boat in which the drone was brought to the shore on Monday.

“A group of defence personnel reached my house and inquired about where and how we netted the aircraft. I informed that our fishing net worth `10,000 was damaged after the drone fell into it but they paid us only `500 and warned us not to venture into the prohibited area,” said Das.

The fishermen said their net was completely damaged. “Our entire day’s labour was wasted as we could catch fish worth only `800. We thought the drone should be brought to the shore as it is used for our defence purposes. However, our expectation of getting due compensation for the damage was ignored,” rued a fisherman.

Director of ITR Binay Das said the drone was a expendable aerial target. Though it was not meant to be retrieved, the officials recovered it apprehending that the remains of the drone might be misused. The fishermen had ventured into prohibited area, he added.