Uttarakhand State police would be the first in India to purchase under- water drones with an estimated cost of Rs three lakh for each. The device would bring photograph from under the water, helping the police to conduct rescue and relief operation in the rivers. Informing, the state director general of police Anil K Raturi said on Saturday that it would save lives and help them retrieve bodies during the time of the disaster.
IG (modernisation) Sanjay Kumar Gunjyal said that the central government has approved fund Rs 2.73 crore as an incentive for this financial year to purchase equipments under modernisation scheme. “ In the last financial year 2016-17, Rs 5.75 crore was released under police modernisation project by the Central Government. After procuring the approved equipments from the markets, the Uttarakhand police were able to save Rs 63.5 lakh from the above released funds. Moreover, around Rs 4.5 crore has been approved under police modernisation for the financial year 2017-18 by the Central Government,” he said.
He further said that side scan sonar system worth around Rs 38 lakhs would be purchased under the current police modernisation fund.
“The sonar works by sending pulses of sound waves out into the water and recording the waves that bounce back to create an image. It is a new type of imaging technique, one that works in a similar way to an MRI scanner at a hospital,” he added.
The company concerned would give training to the cops on how to use new sonar imaging equipment on a remote lake, he said.