Drones banned in Srinagar

SRINAGAR: A week after a drone attack at an Air Force base in Jammu, authorities in Srinagar on Sunday banned the sale, possession and use of such unmanned aerial vehicles in the city.

Earlier, authorities in border districts of Rajouri and Kathua in the Jammu region had put curbs on the use of drones and other UAVs in the wake of the terror attack last Sunday.

Two explosives-laden drones had crashed into the Indian Air Force station at Jammu airport and there were other suspicious sightings of UAVs, triggering a security alert.

In an order, deputy commissioner of Srinagar Mohammad Aijaz directed those having drone cameras or other similar kinds of unmanned aerial vehicles to deposit them in local police stations.

The order, however, exempted government departments using drones for mapping, surveys and surveillance in agricultural, environmental conservation and disaster mitigation sectors but directed them to inform the local police station before using them.

The administration cautioned that any violation of the guidelines will attract punitive action, and directed police to implement the restrictions in letter and spirit.

The order to ban the use of drones came after the recommendations of the city's police chief.

“The decentralised airspace access has to be regulated in view of recent episodes of misuse of drones posing threat to security infrastructure as reported by media/other reliable sources,” the order said.

To “secure the aerial space” near the vital installations and highly populated areas, it is “imperative” to discontinue the use of drones in all social and cultural gatherings to eliminate any risk of injury to the life and damage of property, the order said.

“Keeping in view the security situation, apart from concerns of breach of privacy, nuisance and trespass, it is extremely dangerous to let unmanned aerial vehicles wander around in the skies within the territorial jurisdiction of district Srinagar,” it said.

The district magistrate imposed "restrictions/ban on the storage, sale/ possession, use and transport of drones/similar kinds of unmanned aerial vehicles in the city".

“Persons already having the drone cameras/ similar kind of unmanned aerial vehicles in their possession shall ground the same in the local police stations under proper receipt,” the order said.