Drone spotting in border areas lead to harassment, say farmers

Our Correspondent

Tarn Taran, January 22

Farmers in the border area under the banner of Punjab Border Area Kisan Union in a meeting at Gurdwara Gursar Sidhar, Khemkaran, on Sunday took serious note of the harassment of innocent farmers over the frequent spotting of drones.

Raghbir Singh Bhangala, state president of the union, presided over the meeting. Beside Bhangala, Surjit Singh Bhura, vice-president of the union, were among those who addressed the meeting. The leaders said that in some cases where drones landed in the fields of farmers, they had to face harassment by the BSF or police. The leaders of border area farmers said it was a matter of concern that the land owner was often unaware of the drone’s arrival but was involved in false cases and his name figured in the list of smugglers.

The farmer leaders demanded that the entry of the drones be checked strictly by the BSF and other security agencies to avoid harassment. The leaders appealed to the Union and state governments to take proper steps for drone spotting and spare farmers the trouble.