THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Flouting the blanket ban imposed by the centre, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) are being widely used for a range of purposes, including video coverage of private events and security surveillance activities. The police often turn a blind eye to this violation, even as the collapse of an UAV near a military camp here had triggered panic last year. It was following the security threats posed by the increasing use of UAVs that the Director-General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) issued orders on October 7, 2014 banning the use of UAVs in Indian air space for any purpose.
The unregulated use of drones caught international attention as flight operations at the Dubai airport were shut for over an hour and many flights were diverted on Saturday owing to the presence of a drone in the nearby air space. Drones are used for surveillance, aerial survey, reaching out to remote areas, disaster assessment purposes in calamity hit areas, video coverage of functions and even for marketing display purposes.
While professional drones are available for Rs 20,000 onwards, toy drones cost Rs 2,000 and more. “The unregulated use of objects in the airspace poses serious threat to flight operations, apart from other security concerns. Hence, the DGCA banned the operations,” said Thiruvananthapuram airport director George Tharakan.
The central security agencies are strict on the use of drones. During some recent VVIP visits to the state, some television channels wanted to operate helicams (UAV fitted with camera) for aerial coverage. But the Special Protection Group objected to it, said sources.
The local police even used drones for surveillance purposes during events like Attukal Pongala. “We are not allowing the use of drones in public places these days. But use of drones inside marriage halls is often let off,” said City Police Commissioner Sparjan Kumar. Most professional wedding photography firms are now owning drones, which could be purchased online easily.
Unaware of the ban on drones, the forest department is even planning to use drones for surveillance in forest areas of Muthanga and some trials in this regard were carried out. “Drones with cameras could be an effective surveillance mechanism and hence we explored the option. However, we were not aware of the restrictions on their use,” said Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary warden P. Dhaneshkumar.
