Use, possession and sale of drones and other unmanned aerial vehicles have been banned in Srinagar in the wake of the recent drone attacks on an Indian Air Force station in Jammu in which two personnel sustained injuries.
According to media reports, Srinagar District Magistrate Mohammad Aijaz issued an order saying in order to secure airspace in vital defence 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."
Similar orders were issued in Rajouri and Kathua districts as well.
In the order, issued under Section 144 of the CrPC, the district magistrate asked those possessing drones and similar type of unmanned aerial vehicles to "ground the same in the local police station under proper receipt."
Observing that apart from security concerns and breach of privacy, the order said it is extremely dangerous to let "unmanned aerial vehicles to wander around in the skies within the territorial jurisdiction of Srinagar."
The DM also discouraged the use of drones by government departments for mapping and surveys. Besides, various sectors—agricultural, environment conservation and disaster mitigation—need to take permission from local police before going ahead with activities requiring drone surveillance.
The order warned that any violation of the order will attract "punitive action as warranted under relevant laws."
The drone attacks took place on June 29 around 1.40am within six minutes of each other. The first blast ripped off the roof of a single-storey building at the technical area of the airport manned by the IAF in Satwari area on the outskirts of the city. The second one was on the ground.
—With PTI inputs
