Puri cops ban drones over shrine, near chariots during Rath Yatra

Bhubaneswar: Those planning to take aerial shots of chariots and Jagannath Temple during the Rath Yatra with the help of drones should be careful. The Puri police on Sunday imposed restrictions on the use of drones during Rath Yatra and issued an advisory on who all can use them as well.
Police said unregulated drone usage may pose risk to the safety of Jagannath Temple and devotees. “Jagannath Temple is declared as a red zone as per the provisions of the drone rules 2021. Flying of drones is banned over the premises of the temple. Keeping in view the safety and security of Jagannath Temple, Gundicha Temple, chariots of the deities and devotees, we have released a set of guidelines for flying of drones in Puri city and particularly on the Grand Road from Rath Yatra on June 20 to Niladri Bije on July 1,” Puri SP Kanwar Vishal Singh said.
Police said nobody should fly a drone without a valid unique identification number (UIN) issued by the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) as per the drone rules, 2021. As per the advisory, drone operators will have to follow the restrictions imposed by the DGCA and cannot fly in close proximity of the three chariots.
“We will open a single window system for verification of documents of the drone operators. The single window will function at the office of sub-divisional magistrate, Puri, B T Sahoo (9437234023) and at the office of additional SP, Mihir Panda (9437537937). Either of the offices can be visited by drone operators for document verification and permission to fly drones (not close to chariots and temple) in Puri,” Singh said, adding the Puri police will use drones for the first time to oversee crowd, traffic and security arrangements.
Police said drone operators will be responsible for any mishap involving damage to property or injury to any person during Rath Yatra. “In the past, we arrested a YouTuber for violating the provisions relating to flying of drones over Jagannath Temple. We will keep tabs on unauthorized drone usage,” the SP said.