Manipur: Churachandpur admin bans use of drones, aerial devices amid reports of PM Modi visit

Imphal, Sep 4 (IANS) Amid the media reports about Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s possible visit to Manipur on September 13, the Churachandpur district administration has prohibited the use of aerial devices such as drones, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), balloons, and other flying objects across the district.

Though there is no final confirmation from the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), there are a series of media reports that the Prime Minister is likely to visit the Manipur capital Imphal and Churachandpur district headquarters on September 13 after inaugurating the newly constructed 51.38 km Bairabi-Sairang new railway project in Mizoram making Aizawl the fourth capital city in the Northeast to be connected by rail. Churachandpur District Magistrate Dharun Kumar S, in an order on Thursday, declared the entire hill district as a ‘No Drone Zone’ area.

The District Magistrate, in his order, said that in view of the proposed visit of a VVIP to the District, various security arrangements are being undertaken.

“As a measure to strengthen security, there is a need for restriction on the use of aerial photography and videography in any form by the usage of drones, balloons, etc., which could pose a potential threat to law and order; and hence there is sufficient ground for proceeding for which immediate prevention is required,” the order said.

The DM said that in exercise of the power conferred upon him under section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, with a view to ensure and strengthen security during the visit of the VVIP, declare the whole of Churachandpur District as ‘No Drone Zone’ and prohibited the flying of any kind of aviation devices including UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle), drones, balloons etc., except only those approved by government, in Churachandpur District with immediate effect, until further orders.

Any violation of this order is punishable by legal action under section 223 of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023 and other relevant provisions of law, the order said.

The Manipur government earlier asked the senior civil and police officials to make necessary arrangements in Imphal and the Churachandpur district in connection with the proposed visit of a VVIP to the state.

A notification issued by the General Administration Department, however, did not mention the name of the VVIP or the date of the visit.

According to the notification available with IANS, Manipur Chief Secretary Puneet Kumar Goel held a meeting with the senior civil and security officials earlier this week to review arrangements in connection with the proposed visit of a VVIP to the state.

The Chief Secretary told the officials attending the meeting that the visit of the VVIP needs to be organised in a grand manner.

“All security arrangements as per Blue Book, including installation of jammers, sanitisation and anti-sabotage checking of en route and function venue at Kangla Fort (in Imphal) and in Churachandpur district,” the notification said.

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma earlier said that the Prime Minister is expected to be on a two-day visit to Assam on September 13-14.

PM Modi’s visit is centred around the birth centenary celebrations of cultural icon and Bharat Ratna Bhupen Hazarika, and will also inaugurate the official celebrations on September 13 in Guwahati.

Officials in Mizoram said that the Prime Minister will visit Mizoram on September 13 to inaugurate the newly constructed 51.38 km Bairabi-Sairang new railway project. They said they have received informal information that from Aizawl, the Prime Minister is likely to visit Manipur, his first trip since the ethnic violence broke out in the state in May 2023. However, the senior officials both in Mizoram and Manipur said that they have yet to get any official confirmation about the Prime Minister’s visit to Manipur.

Meanwhile, the Mizoram government and the Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) officials earlier said that the Prime Minister is likely to inaugurate the Bairabi-Sairang new railway project on September 13, making Aizawl the fourth capital city in the Northeast to be connected by rail.

An official in the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) said that the Mizoram Chief Minister Lalduhoma, while addressing the 15th Conference of the Mizoram Police Service Association (MPSA) on August 22, indicated that the Prime Minister is likely to flag off the Bairabi–Sairang railway project on September 13.

A senior official of Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) headquarters in Maligaon (near Guwahati) had said that on September 13, the Prime Minister is most likely to inaugurate the 51.38 km new railway line project from Bairabi, near Assam’s Hailakandi district, to Sairang, near Aizawl city, bringing direct rail connectivity to the Mizoram state capital for the first time.

–IANS

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