Tawqeer Hussain
A week after the drone attack at an Air Force base in Jammu, the Srinagar administration has imposed restrictions on the use, possession, and sale of drones.
“A ban has been imposed on the possession, sale, storage, use, and transport of drones in Srinagar due to security reasons,” reads an order issued by the Srinagar District administration on July 3.
“People who have drones should deposit them with the nearest police station,” the order adds.
The order, issued under Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure commonly called Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), further stated that “with a view 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 of property”.
Airbase drone attack aftermath: after Rajouri, Srinagar becomes the second district in J&K to ban drones. People who own drones have been asked to deposit them in police stations. pic.twitter.com/lJW8fYFT6i
— Ieshan Wani (@Ieshan_W) July 4, 2021
Even the government departments using drones for survey and surveillance activities in agricultural, environmental conservation, and disaster mitigation sectors have been asked to inform the local police station before using them.
The order has cautioned that any violation of the guidelines will attract punitive action and directed police to implement the restrictions.
The Srinagar administration’s order comes at a time when security is on high alert in the Union Territory following the drone attack at the Jammu Air Force base in the early hours last Sunday.
With this order, Srinagar became the third district in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir to impose a ban on drones. Earlier, the Rajouri and Kathua districts of the Jammu division imposed such bans.
