Daksha to aid cops on Karthigai Deepam fest

Security arrangements for the grand Karthigai Mahadeepam festival here are being boosted with the planned deployment of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) Daksha, developed by the aerospace department of Madras Institute of Technology (MIT) of Anna University.

Top police officers decided to use Daksha during the festival after it successfully accomplished its assignment in helping the Madurai district administration in surveying illegal quarrying.

The ten-day festival draws not less than 15 lakh devotees from across the country and abroad. The idea of using Daksha to augment security arrangements during the festival was mooted by Director General of Police (DGP) K Ramanujam and Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) (Law and Order) T K Rajendran.

A five-member team, led by associate professor of MIT’s aerospace department K Senthil Kumar demonstrated the operation of the UAV on Sunday at the DGP’s office.

 “We are satisfied with the demo given by the MIT team. We want to use Daksha to supplement the existing security for efficient crowd management on the final day of the festival,” a senior police officer said.

The unmanned aerial vehicle would fly at an optimum height of 1,000 feet and the onboard hi-tech camera will cover a 5-km radius.