Railways uses drone to survey new track, activist cries foul

Bhopal: The Bhopal divisional railway authorities used a drone for an aerial survey of the new Habibganj-Misrod track on Monday drawing ire of activists. Insiders say, though this was a first such initiative, but the authorities overlooked necessary approvals for it. As per GoI’s advisory for flying drones, a user should take permission from the local administration for flying below 200 feet and DGCA’s UA drone operator permit for flying above 200 feet.
RTI activist V K Naswa who had been raising his voice against unauthorised use of drones in the city said he would file a complaint against the railways if they fail to produce required documents.“Railways should have taken a prior permission from district collectorate and informed Habibganj and Misrod police stations for flying the drone.Railway officials had flown the drone above 200 feet at height which is a security threat. If a government body does not follow rules and regulations, how can we expect a common man to follow it? said Naswa.
When Bhopal railway division PRO IA Siddique was contacted, he said, “Is it even necessary? I don’t know about any such procedure of seeking permission before flying a drone. We had flown the drone in railway boundary and also above Nishatpura yard to check the work progress. It will be of great use as we will be able to check project progress which is going on in Misrod from Bhopal only. We were able to get good visuals to show the higher officials about the project. We were just testing and if it goes good then we will buy it and use it for inspection. We will take required permissions once we buy it and use it on a daily basis.”
Two years ago, RTI activist Naswa had raised his voice against drone-strapped 3D idols of Lord Hanuman which hovered over localities in the city. Naswa had demanded registration of FIRs against the company at TT Nagar, Shyamla Hills, Govindpura, Ayodhya Nagar and Habibganj police stations areas where drone-strapped idols of deity were flown on May 3, 2015.