DGCA denies permission to Patels to fly drones during Kranti rally

Ahmedabad

The Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and other concerned authorities have not granted permission to the Patidar Anamat Aandolan Samiti (PAAS) to fly unmanned drones for private air surveillance of their pro-reservation kranti rally and meeting here tomorrow.

Meanwhile city police has lodged a case against unidentified persons for flying a drone in the city today.

However, the city police would fly four UAV Netra or aerial surveillance tomorrow of which one will look after the traffic, two would be at the meeting place around GMDC ground and one would take care of the rest of the city.

The co-convener of Surat unit of the PAAS, which is holding the mega rally to press its demand for inclusion of the politically strong Patel (Patidar) community in Gujarat in the OBC category for reservation benefit, Mr. Dharmik Malaviya also in-charge of the surveillance unit of the rally today told UNI that they have not got the permission to fly drones.

‘We had applied to the DGCA and other authorities for permission to fly 10 drones for air surveillance. We had even brought five drones with us here but the ACP of crime branch Mr. K N Patel informed us that we have not been allowed to do so,’ he said.

However we will deploy our intelligence wing in the meeting and for the rally. 120 of our plain clothed men and women intelligence unit volunteers would be deployed in the 60 blocks of the meeting venue. They would also be present during the rally. Our 40000 volunteers would also maintain order, he said.

Meanwhile, commissioner of police Mr. Shivanand Jha also confirmed that PAAS has not been allowed to fly drones. ‘Apart form the DGCA nod, a special permission regarding wireless clearance is also needed for it’, he said.

He also said that a case against unidentified people for flying a drone in the city today. He, however, claimed that the culprits were not related to the PAAS.

– DeshGujarat