Drones banned in 3 more districts of J-K

District authorities in Samba, Ramban and Baramulla in Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday banned the storage, sale or possession of drones and other unmanned aerial vehicles.

Authorities in Srinagar and border districts of Rajouri and Kathua have already imposed such a ban after the recent terror attack at an IAF station in Jammu with armed drones.

In Baramulla, those having drone cameras or other similar kinds of unmanned aerial vehicles have been directed to deposit them in local police stations.

The District Magistrate of Ramban, Mussarat Islam, said the ban has been ordered in the wake of the frequent use of small drone cameras for capturing photos and videos in social and cultural gatherings and the risk of its use by anti-national elements.

According to the order, the move will help to avoid any confusion in the current situation to secure aerial spaces near vital installations and highly populated areas.

“’Any drone operating in the district needs to be registered. The owner of the drone and operator thereof shall be liable for all damages incurred, to person or property, due to mishandling or malfunctioning of drone or otherwise,” the order stated.

In what was the first instance of Pakistan-based terrorists deploying drones to strike vital installations, two bombs were dropped at the IAF station Jammu in the early hours of Sunday, causing minor injuries to two personnel.

The explosions took place at around 1.40 am 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 Indian Air Force in the Satwari area on the outskirts of Jammu. The second one was on the ground.