The Jammu and Kashmir administration on July 4 banned the use and possession of drones and other unmanned aerial vehicles in the capital Srinagar, a week after two Indian Air Force personnel were injured in twin drone-driven blasts on the technical airport in Jammu.
“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 to property,” Srinagar District Magistrate Mohammad Aijaz said in an order.
Issued under Section 144 of the Cr.PC, it says that the decentralised airspace access has to be regulated in view of recent episodes of misuse of drones posing a threat to security infrastructure as reported by the media and other reliable sources.
“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 to wander around in the skies within the territorial jurisdiction of Srinagar,” the order reads.
Persons already having drone cameras in their possession were directed to report to the local police station.
“Moreover, the government departments using drones for mapping, surveys and surveillance in agricultural, environment conservation and disaster mitigation sector shall inform the local police station before undertaking any such activity in public interest,” it said.
Srinagar has become a second district in Jammu and Kashmir to ban the use and possession of drones. Earlier, the Rajouri administration banned it in the wake of the Jammu attack.
