SHIMLA: Himachal Pradesh revenue and horticulture minister Jagat Singh Negi said on Monday that multiple Chinese drones, perhaps being used for espionage activities, have been sighted during the last week over Rishi Dogri and Shipki La villages in border district of Kinnaur.
Negi, a Congress MLA from Kinnaur legislative assembly segment, has urged the central government to take note of these drone sightings and initiate all required steps to check the drone menace.
“These drones have violated our air space multiple times. It is even being claimed that planes have also entered our territory. Despite this, the central government has not taken any action on this and villagers are in a grip of fear,” said Negi.
The minister asserted that villagers have informed him about such drones making several rounds over their villages during the last week and these drones have also been sighted by the state police officials as well as the Army personnel.
The revenue minister reasoned that China might be using these drones to carry out espionage because of the ongoing project in Shipki La and Rishi Dogri village in Pooh sub-division pertaining to construction of road till the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China.
“China has grabbed thousands of square kilometers of India’s land in Ladakh and now slowly the danger looms over the Himachal border,” said Negi, adding that the central government cannot sit as a mute spectator. The state police have already increased its surveillance and monitoring in the area.
The hill state of Himachal Pradesh shares a 240 kilometre porous border with China which includes160 kilometres in Kinnaur and 80 kilometres in Lahaul and Spiti district.
Indo Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) and the Army manage this border, and the construction as well as the widening work of the border roads are undertaken by the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) because of its strategic importance.
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Stay updated with the latest news on Times of India. Don't miss daily games like Crossword, Sudoku, and Mini Crossword.Sanjeev Verma is Senior Assistant Editor in the Punjab Bureau of ...
Read MoreSanjeev Verma is Senior Assistant Editor in the Punjab Bureau of The Times of India. He writes on politics, security, public policy, finance, industries and commerce, rural development, legal affairs, defence services welfare and NRI affairs. He has earlier covered Haryana, as well as Punjab and Haryana High Court after an initial stint in Delhi.
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