BENGALURU: In New Delhi, an Obama-Modi joint statement on Sunday spelt out a plan for both their countries to make drones together. Closer home, in Lalbagh, a drone surveying the ongoing Republic Day Flower Show caused some buzz, after it spotted a fire and prevented damage. The incident happened between 10.30am and 11am when the drone, costing approximately Rs 1.5 lakh, was flying around the Lalbagh Rock area. It picked up images of smoke and relayed it back to the control. Its pilot Shivaprasad Jali decided to get closer and look and found that someone had lit a fire that had the potential of causing considerable damage.
"They informed us and the horticulture department, and we doused the fire almost immediately," a police official deputed at Lalbagh said. The drone belongs to Vyoma Aerospace, which has been roped in by the horticulture department for surveillance during the flower show. "We were asked to co-ordinate with the police and fly the drone in areas the cops wanted. Initially we were flying it around the Glass House which is the most crowded area. But the cops told us they have enough manpower there and asked us fly near the Rock, which was not manned," Jali, who is also Vyoma's chief pilot, told TOI. Police officials said the fire was potentially threatening but an early detection allowed them to prevent any damage at the historic park, which seeS huge footfalls during the weekend. "And you know how many more turn up during the flower show. The Rock area is generally crowded," one of them said. Naveen Bhat, a co-ordinator for Vyoma, said: "If the police had not asked to survey the Rock area, we wouldn't have spotted it. So in that sense it was a good co-ordinated effort."
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bengaluru/Drone-spots-fire-in-Lalbagh-prevents-damage/articleshow/46014810.cms
