Odisha: Puri police issues advisory for flying drones during Ratha Jatra

Puri: The Puri district police has issued an advisory for flying drones in the Holy City during the upcoming Ratha Jatra of Lord Jagannath and his siblings Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra.

The police have urged the people to adhere to the advisory till the completion of Niladri Bije ritual on July 1.

“It has been observed that many private persons and photographers use drones for taking pictures and videos for various purposes during Ratha Jatra. Unregulated drone use by the inexperienced operators poses a risk to the safety of devotees. We had earlier initiated legal action against a few persons for violating the drone rules,” said a senior official of Puri police.

Keeping in view the safety and security of Srimandir, Sri Gundicha temple, chariots of the deities and the devotees, the following advisory has been issued for flying of drones in Puri city, particularly over the Grand Road, from Ratha Jatra on June 20 to Niladri Bije on July 1, he added.

1. Sri Jagannath Temple is declared as a Red Zone as per the provisions of The Drone Rules 2021 and no one is allowed to fly drones over the temple premises.
2. No drone operator should fly drone without a valid UIN (unique identification number) issued by the DGCA (Director General of Civil Aviation).
3. No drone operator should fly drone without the valid documents as per the Drone Rules 2021.
4. Drone operators will be responsible for any mishap involving damage to property or injury to person.
5. Drone operators shall verify the restrictions imposed by DGCA on digital sky platform before flying as per rule 21 of the Drone Rules.
6. No drone will be allowed to fly in close proximity of the three chariots or over Sri Gundicha temple.
7. Any infringement of the Drone Rules is a punishable offence. In the past, one You Tuber was arrested by Puri police for violating the provisions relating to flying of drones.

“A single window system will function in Puri for verification of documents of the drones. The single window will operate at the offices of SDM, Puri, BT Sahoo (9437234023) and Additional SP, Puri, Mihir Panda (9437537937). The drone operators can visit either of these two offices for document verification,” said the official.

The Puri district police would use drones for monitoring traffic, crowd density and beach security in Puri city and over the Grand Road during the aforementioned period. The Police will also keep a tab on un-authorized drone use during the mega festival. Legal action will be initiated against the violators, he added.

“The people are advised to dial the Helpline Number 6370967100 for any query/complaint related to drone use in Puri city during Ratha Jatra,” said the official.