Trial of drone lifting apple boxes held in Kinnaur village

Shimla, November 14

The possibility of using drones to transport fruits and agricultural produce is being explored. A private company in association with Nichar panchayat today undertook a trial of a drone lifting apple boxes from orchards located in the higher reaches of the village in Kinnaur district and transporting these till the road head. The drone took barely a few minutes to transport an apple box weighing 10 kg to 20 kg over the hills.

Himachal is among the few states to have formulated a drone policy but the technology is still restricted to dropping medicines and collecting blood and other samples from areas that are inaccessible or remain snow bound for almost six months like in Kinnaur and Lahaul and Spiti districts, Pangi in Bharmour of Chamba district and remote areas of Kullu, Mandi and Shimla districts.

The state government has so far used the technology for dropping medicines and collecting blood samples from remote areas, especially in Chamba and Kullu districts.

A drone takes a few minutes to drop an apple box while the arduous road journey takes three to four hours. The technology can come in very handy for the transportation of perishable produce like peach, apricot, plum and flowers being cultivated in other parts of the state.

The drone technology has helped provide timely medical aid to people by dropping medicines and lifting blood and other samples, which are necessary to decide the line of treatment.

On June 6 this year, the Cabinet had approved the Himachal Pradesh Drone Policy 2022 with the objective of propagating the technology for economic prosperity and creating employment avenues. The government is keen to extensively use drones for surveillance to check illegal mining and felling of trees over a large area.

Pact with pvt firm

• On July 12, the government had entered into an agreement with Skye Air for a drone delivery system
• The company helped in connecting six primary health centres and community health centres in remote Chamba areas via multiple flights, covering an aerial distance of 170 km during the trial
• Successful run of a small drone was held between Dharamsala and Tanda medical college in Kangra to deliver vaccines and drugs