Punjab to deploy anti-drone tech to check drug inflow from across border

The deployment of anti-drone technology will help the state government's anti-drugs campaign in a big way, Cheema said

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The Punjab government will take the help of anti-drone technology to check smuggling of narcotics and arms and ammunition from across the border, Cabinet minister Harpal Singh Cheema said on Tuesday.

Finance Minister Cheema, who is leading a cabinet sub-committee to monitor action against the drug menace and Cabinet minister Aman Arora on Tuesday witnessed the demonstration of the anti-drone technology by three companies in Mohali.

Speaking to reporters, Arora said drugs, arms and ammunition are coming from Pakistan as he stressed upon the use of anti-drone technology to check the inflow from across the border.

"It is the primary responsibility of the government of India and the BSF to check smuggling of narcotics and arms and ammunition from across the border," Arora said, adding the Border Security Force (BSF) has 50 km of jurisdiction.

"But we have been seeing over the past many years that the BSF is not getting 100 per success (in checking smuggling from across the border)," he claimed.

He noted the Punjab Police is the second line of defence.

"To protect people from drugs, the state government is ready to go to any extent," he said.

"I want to assure people that we keep hearing that drugs and explosives are coming from across the border but with this initiative (roping in anti-drone technology), such incidents will be checked in a big way," he said.

"We want to make Punjab a drug free state. We are ready to adopt any technique for this. To use the anti-drone technique, we had invited certain companies here," he said.

The deployment of anti-drone technology will help the state government's anti-drugs campaign in a big way, Cheema added.

"We will adopt the anti-drone technology to curb the smuggling of drugs from Pakistan," he said, adding, "We will soon deploy this technology with the Punjab Police".

To a question, Cheema said the Punjab Police will coordinate with central government agencies for the deployment of the anti-drone technology to check smuggling of drugs.

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann last week set a deadline of three months to make the state drug-free. The state government has also constituted a five-member cabinet sub-committee to monitor action against the scourge of drugs.