City agencies air-spray disinfectant using drones

Bhubaneswar: The Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) and the Bhubaneswar Smart City Limited (BSCL) on Tuesday successfully conducted a trial run to spray disinfectant using drones as part of measures to check the spread of coronavirus.

The trial was carried out on the stretch between Rajmahal Square and Sishu Bhawan Square.

BSCL sources said two drones were pressed into the job. While one was meant for surveillance and flew at a height of 30 feet to check whether the stretch was free of people and animals, the other drone, which flew lower, at a height of six feet, sprayed the disinfectant.

The drone carried 15 litre of disinfectant and sprayed the 1.5-km-long stretch within 15 minutes. “We had to put up a barricade to rid the area of humans and animals since the disinfectant is poisonous. We kept a watch on the stretch till 2 pm,” said BMC deputy commissioner Subhendu Sahu.

The BMC officials said they would decide on where to use drones next. “Whether it is used in markets, residential areas, slums or other places will be decided after a meeting with the technical staff of the BSCL, who will be operating the drones,” a BMC officer said.

The drone-mounted disinfectant is likely to be sprayed at night. The drone facility will supplement the disinfectant spraying being carried out jointly by the BMC sanitation team and the state fire service personnel.

Several metro cities in the country have also started using drones for disinfection.