Representat image of a drone | Photo Credit: Thinkstock

Nainital: Uttarakhand becomes the first-ever state to get the Forest Drone Force, a security force to keep a check over criminal activities in the area's forest regions.

The Forest Drone Force is a set of 25 drones to keep a tight vigil over the forests of the state. Illegal mining, tree felling, and poaching amongst other activities pose a serious threat to the forests' flora and fauna. The introduction of the drone security is supposed to provide an aide to the forest security and will help keep an eye on high altitude areas of the state forests. The drones will be operated by senior Indian Forest Services officers from the state and experts from Drone Application Research Centre, Dehradun.

The force will be appointed to defend the wildlife and protect the forests from anti-environment activities in Uttarakhand. Currently, the security personnel are aided by five drones. Twenty more drones are said to be added soon to the fleet. These drones will be covering regions of protected sanctuaries like Nanda Devi National Park, Kedarnath Wildlife Sanctuary and Corbett Reserve amongst various others. The department also plans to expand the initiative, it is planning to recruit 15 drone operators with high-end electronic set up to support the cause in the state.

Environmental activists and wildlife enthusiasts are happy with the introduction of drones to maintain a tight vigil over all the activities taking place in the forests.