The police are considering either regulating or even completely banning the use of private drones within the city limits citing security reasons.
Following the recent announcement that drone owners must notify to the Police Commissionerate, three persons, including a famous film actor, have reported with specifications of their device.
This comes in the wake of a camera-fitted drone falling on the terrace of a serviced apartment in M.R.C Nagar last week. The man who navigated it was detained by the police the next day.
At a press conference after the incident, Police Commissioner S. George pointed out that drones or Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) could pose a serious threat to security. Ban on drones is in place in cities like Mumbai.
With the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) barring the use of drones or any type of UAS in civilian airspace, the city police may soon slap a ban on the devices in Chennai or subject its commercial users’ to prior police clearance procedure after fulfilment of various guidelines for flight.
“We will be holding a meeting with DGCA authorities in the coming days and will announce the final word on drone usage in city limits. Until then we have advised all drone owners in the city to furnish details on their device to police,” said a senior officer.
Drone owners should approach the nodal officer, in this case the Deputy Commissioner of Police (Security), and necessarily mention the category, power, flight range, purpose and place of purchase of their drone.
Police are also collecting information on possible selling points of UAS in Chennai, including grey markets and online dealers.
