MANGALURU: In the wake of attacks at an Indian Air Force station using drones in Jammu, there has been a lot of apprehension across the country, on the preparedness to deal with such a situation. Mangaluru city police have identified no-fly zones, and intimated the government to declare the zones as such. Mangaluru is a sensitive place with establishments like NMPT, MRPL and a lot of industries, which have security implications.
Last year there had been incidents of toy helicopters and small drones being found near the Mangaluru International Airport. Highly placed sources informed that such cases have been taken seriously, and are being followed up upon. City police commissioner N Shashi Kumar has been working in close coordination with the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security, in order to introduce sufficient measures, which will protect the airport and such establishments from drone attacks or intrusions. They have already been in talks with some Israeli agencies, in order to acquire the technologies to deal with the threat posed by drones, an officer said.
The technology to deal with drones is either breaking off the communication channel with the drone, that includes the radio communication between the drone operator and the drone, as well as to disable the GPS systems of the drones. “The best of the technologies will be implemented not just in Mangaluru, but across the country,” a senior officer said.
DCP Hariram Shankar said, “Recently, we have seen people using toy drones, drones for wedding photography and recreational purposes. The drones have to be registered. It is important to have a unique identification number (UIN) and unmanned aircraft operator permit (UNOP) from the Director General of Civil Aviation. All drone pilots should have a drone pilot flying licence and should have undergone training if flying drones. The drones should be insured.”
He told TOI they have been in close coordination with the South Kanara Photographers Association, and have listed all drones with their registration numbers and other details. Requesting drone users to follow legal measures, he said drones without legal documents will be seized. Nearly 50 drone owners have been identified. We are likely to rope in trainers for a training session on drones, he added.
