Forest dept to use drones for surveillance

The forest department is in the process of training master trainers for handling the drones. Training of the staff at Kaziranga and its adjoining divisions is being done.

�We intend to use these drones extensively for surveillance purpose. Over the next few weeks, we would use them to survey the state of forests in the inter-State border areas,� he said.

The move comes days after Arunachal Pradesh allegedly began constructing a road inside a reserve forest at Lakhimpur.

A report on the matter has been submitted by the forest department to Assam�s home department for necessary action.

�There are certain inaccessible areas where we actually do not know what is happening. These drones will be able to give us a picture of the ground. We just need to put the coordinates and operate it,� Singh said. �Once we get the picture, we can then take up issues, if any, with the neighbouring States,� he said.

The battery life of the drones is around 40 minutes.

One drone is also being used in Cachar forest division for various surveillance activities.

While coal mining now remains suspended, the forest department also plans to conduct surveillance of the protected areas for detecting violations once the mining operations resume.