New Delhi: A threefold surge in the number of drone sightings has been reported along the India-Pakistan border with a total of 311 observations of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) till December 23 as compared to 104 in 2021.
According to a report by the newswire agency ANI, the data collated by the Border Security Forces (BSF), the incident has drastically quadrupled as compared to the year 2020 when 77 UAVs were observed.
These UAVs are a major source of smuggling arms and ammunition, and drugs in the country. The drone sightings, which were majorly observed in different areas in Punjab, were within a range of 2-10 km of the International Border.
However, alert BSF personnel shot down over 22 such drones and seized nearly 45 kg of heroin and a cache of arms and ammunition — including seven grenades, two magazines, 60 ammunition and other arms.
The data accessed by ANI added that out of a total of 492 UAVs or drones observed on the India-Pakistan Border from January 1, 2020 to December 23, this year, 311 were sighted this year, 104 in 2021 and 77 in 2020.
Of the total drone sightings, 369 UAVs were observed in Punjab, 75 in Jammu, 40 in Rajasthan, and 8 in Gujarat.
In Punjab, a maximum of 164 drones were observed in Amritsar, 96 in Gurdaspur, 84 in Ferozpur and 25 in Abohar districts.
Under the Jammu frontier, a total of 35 drones were observed in Indreshwar Nagar, 29 in Jammu and 11 in Sunderbani.
In Rajasthan, 32 drones were observed in Sri Ganganagar, seven in Barmer, three each in Bikaner and Jaisalmer North, two in Jaisalmer South and one in Bhuj.
The data further revealed that a total of 206 drones were observed between July 1 and December 23 this year. Of them, a maximum of 45 drones were observed in August, followed by 44 in September, 38 in October, 36 in November, and 24 in December. July saw the fewest drone sightings at 19.
(With Agency Inputs)
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