Jammu And Kashmir Bans Use, Possession & Transport Of Drones In Srinagar

The J&K administration has banned the use and possession of drones and unmanned vehicles in Srinagar citing security reasons.

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Jammu: After the reported drone attacks in Jammu and suspected surveillance by terrorist organisations, authorities in J&K's Srinagar district on July 4 banned the use and possession of drones and other unmanned aerial vehicles in the capital Srinagar.

This comes a week after two IAF personnel were injured in twin drone-driven blasts on the technical airport in Jammu.

An order issued by Mohammad Aijaz, district magistrate Srinagar, said, "To secure aerial space near 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 life and damage to property".

The order has been issued under section 144 of CrPc. The order says decentralised air space access has to be regulated in view of the recent incidents of misuse of drones posing threat to security infrastructure as reported by the media and other reliable sources.

“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.

Meanwhile, the Jammu and Kashmir police are going around villages of the border areas and creating awareness amongst villagers regarding drones.