At a polling station in Hyderabad
HYDERABAD: Six election surveillance drones – deployed for the first time in India to track irregularities – were brought down by unidentified miscreants using kites during Tuesday’s bypoll in Hyderabad’s Jubilee Hills. What was meant to be a technological leap in election monitoring turned into an airborne drama that left officials both startled and scrambling. A total of 139 licensed drone pilots from Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu were on election duty. But the operation took a chaotic turn when an organised kite-flying tactic was reportedly used to strike the drones in four localities – two each in Rahmatnagar and Karmika Nagar, and one each in Madhuranagar and Shaikpet. Each drone, worth about Rs 2.5 lakh, was disabled mid-flight, prompting swift police response to the sites. Each pilot, paid an honorarium of Rs 12,000, was responsible for surveillance within a 3km radius around polling stations. Equipped with three batteries and capable of three hours of continuous flight, the drones were linked to a central command centre at GHMC headquarters, where live feeds poured in throughout the day. “Aside from a few disruptions, we managed to continue our aerial coverage,” said a pilot. Inside the control room, officials monitored over 1,000 hours of video footage relayed by drones, issuing real-time instructions to field operators. But challenges didn’t end with kites. On two occasions, unidentified persons allegedly tried to snatch drones from pilots and even intimidated operators, sources said. The footage will undergo detailed analysis to identify any violations and those behind the sabotage. Several women drone pilots had applied for deployment, but majority of the assignments were eventually given to male pilots. As investigators piece together what brought the drones down, the episode has earned the bypoll a place in election history.