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Drones Monitor Mumbai-Pune Expressway in India

India: The Maharashtra government for the first time deployed drones on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway to stop disobedient drivers. The expressway which is 95km long has attained a reputation for turning into a ‘death zone’ due to reckless drivers and their rash driving which becomes the main cause for several accidents.

The drones will operate from four base stations and are expected to work day-and-night to monitor overtaking and rash driving on this expressway.

“We conducted the demonstration on Saturday and Sunday, between noon and 4 p.m. and used two drones in the ghat section [between the Lonavala exit and the Khalapur toll plaza] to monitor traffic on both sides,” said Amol Tambe, Superintendent of Police (Highways), Pune region.

Minister of State for Home (Urban) Deepak Vasant Kesarkar said, “Drones would be deployed on a pilot basis, because the incidents of rash driving were too many for the minuscule police teams to handle” he further added, “CCTV cameras are not as effective as drones. Hence, we decided to deploy drone cameras to instil discipline.”

The government started looking for a solution after accidents claimed 30 lives in past three months. In June, over 35 persons were injured and 17 were killed on the spot when a luxury bus collided with two cars and then crashed into a 20-foot ditch.

According to a recent report published by TechSci Research, Global Commercial Drone Market By Drone Type, By Application, By Region, Competition Forecast and Opportunities, 2015-2021”, over the next decade, rapidly evolving drone technology is expected to transform the conventional way of doing business in various sectors. Evolving regulatory policy framework, increasing commercial applications of drones across various end-use sectors, coupled with advancements in drone technologies are projected to propel growth in global commercial drone market in the ensuing years.

As per TechSci Research, it is anticipated that the Indian government is likely to increase the use of drones for enhancing public safety in the coming years, which is further expected to fuel the growth of global commercial drone market.

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