Jammu: Union Minister Jitendra Singh said that unlike Pakistan, which uses drones to drop weapons and further terrorism in Indian territory, India uses its drones to serve humanity.
Speaking at the launch of operations of an unmanned aerial vehicle to deliver COVID-19 vaccines to areas along the International Border (IB) in J&K, he said, “Pakistan is using drones to drop explosives to cause harm to human life and further terrorism, but our drone will act as a carrier of ‘Sanjeevani Boti’ for the betterment of humanity and is going with a message of peace.”
Singh said health workers engaged in COVID-19 vaccination were facing problems in reaching families in remote and mountainous regions, and difficult terrains of J&K, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, and elsewhere.
“The use of this type of drones will be of great help and also aid in fulfilling the government’s resolve of 100 percent vaccination,” he said.
On restrictions on the use of drones in J&K, Singh said there was no need to be concerned as all necessary security measures had been taken and permissions sought from the authorities concerned.
Singh, who is also the vice president of CSIR, said it was a proud moment for the country as the Mangalore-born drone would be used as a new “COVID warrior” in the fight against the pandemic.
“After the country reached the successful milestone of 100 crore vaccinations under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he came out with the ‘Har Ghar Dastak’ COVID-19 inoculation campaign. This device will prove very beneficial in this direction as we will be successful in reaching families which are living in the remotest region and mountainous areas,” he said.
Singh said some days back, a trial of the BVLOS UAV was conducted in Bhaderwah valley of the hilly Doda district, and “vaccines were dropped successfully within half an hour which otherwise would have taken three hours”.