After Chennai and Mumbai, Kolkata police takes the same route!!

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata/Kolkata-no-fly-zone-for-private-drones/articleshow/48129109.cms

Seems we have to quit this hobby unless new rules and laws introduced! Very sad for us!! 

take the motors out and install them in planes... for some while.....
plane flyers are lucky.

They banned Drones.
Why don't people understand Quad is not a DRONE!!

Sad part is that they have mentiond this:

"According to police, drones, sometimes referred to as unmanned aerial systems (UAS) or unmanned aircraft, can infringe upon neighbours' privacy, breach civil aviation regulations and raise data protection issues - even if the model used is simply a cheap 'quadcopter' bought as a toy."

Some idiot went to seek "permission" from police.

I have been flying right infront of police in Kolkata for last one year and never faced any problem other than curiosity. And this guy now makes it impossible. Dumbhead people are making things difficult ! I just feel like thrashing this guy.

If he flies drones, he must be a member of some RC groups like this and should be aware that after DGCA guidelines drone flying is illegal. Why did he have to go to the police and do the "nautanki" of getting "permission to fly drones"?

15-20 lakh for a drone is an absurd price by the way. Nobody buys that kind of drones.

@Antriksh

"This is not a drone" kind of argument is not going to hold anymore. The US just held its first Drone National Championships. It is being called a drone. Sellers are calling it drone and people are also calling this a drone. This terminology is here to stay.

If you are aware how media works, you'd know that often these kind of "X said that..." reports without any specific name is actually made up by the media. They reporter just read something on the net and attributed it to "The Police".

True, our stupid media is making things more complicated with their limited technical knowledge! Sad 

Sad, very sad. Such idiots are making our hobby vulnerable to police even when we are nit doing anything wrong. Some action must be taken to form proper rules by an act of legislation or  at least a government order.

Absolutely true.... people are infringing upon privacy and safety of others without any though of them.... flying in Lalbazar at Kolkata is as good as an attempt to murder... The Police officer is very right in saying what he said..... "We have asked him to get permission from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and come back to us. While we are not following the Chennai model of arresting anyone, we want to be sure that the safety and security of the city is not hampered," an IPS officer said

People need to realise that this hobby has to be done at an open space where chances of hurting someone or infringing into his privacy are nil or negligible....

Waiting for new DGCA rules and also hoping that they might be lenient toward the hobby and hobby lovers ... otherwise the future generations might not even know what was rc fun

See---blanket ban on drones in maharashtra-----topic guys...
got any ideas??

the dgca is a fool.....
the media cooks up something and a new dgca law is made..
just ignore them.
if a police officer stops you. say sorry and go away.
when the officer is gone.... come fly again.

Yes true, but there should be transparent laws and regulations for hobby flying so called private drones! Most of the countries have it in place then why not India??

because india is you know.....................................








diffrent.

You can't take the risk ... what if he hasn't gone and comes back and gives you a kick ?

He he...and height of coincidence, the 'drone' crashes immediately in front of him!!   

or on top of him...
 > > > > > > >

Yep.. "drone" is not limited to the military UAV's.. and for the heck of it is that, not just the man-made stuff. Even a honey bee is called drone - the male gender, ie., and we should also stop raising an alarm, whenever somebody refers it as a 'drone', as if it is a crime!

Don't say sorry. Feign ignorance..."Oh I did not know....I just made this as my engineering project"

Or you can try to confuse them. Usually the police stopping you would be a constable. Challenge him by saying that this is a quadcopter and not a drone

.... "But the ban is on drones. This is just a TOY quadcopter".

Those building custom quads on frames are lucky. These don't look like standard "Drones". More like geeky contraptions. These are more easy to pass off as engineering projects.

...."How can this be a drone? Drones cost 15 lakh Rupees (as per news article). This one costs only 5000). This does not even look like one.

Confusing people always works. The drone which was shot down in Pakistan is an example. Indian Government and Media just caught on a news article from China which says that DJI Phantom 3 is a Chinese drone and started claiming that China admitted that the drone was Chinese 

Whatever you do..don't get into arguments with the police or anybody else on drones. Fly and scoot and live to fly another day. That's how we have to survive. News related to drones are not going to get away from our media. For the media always on the lookout for TRP and sales, creating a fear-psychosis is a sure-shot way for success.

Basically, we need to treat this law like other laws in India against peeing in public and smoking. Those are there on paper. And police in Kolkata are much better. They won't arrest people simply for flying drones unless something serious happens.

But for safety, don't fly in public place. If someone gets injured, the law will be used against you. Don't fly near airport or security area. I fly in Maidan which is Defence Land. Once I almost collided my quad with a military helicopter which was flying low. But where else would I get such a big space in Kolkata to fly? Although police is active in that area, they have never interfered. Maidan is an area meant for sports and generally police is lenient. I just hope such news articles don't get published too often in local papers so that awareness of the "ban" is low. Otherwise there are some people who are always ready to complain.

That's why I am raging against that stupid "businessman". What made him go to police to seek permission to fly drones, I wonder? Some people are apparently publicity seekers. Can't keep a low profile.

Good one Santanu. Btw which part of maidan do you fly? Could meet someday! For me its not that tough. There are lots of vast agricultural fields and open spaces near my town with less locality surrounding. So it is less risky and peaceful!

If you read the thread ''The DGCA Strikes Back'' I have put a copy of the contentious ruling by the DGCA right in the beginning.

There is no ambiguity. The word UAS defined therein as Unmanned Aerial System is categorically used.

Thus nothing - not even a RC Glider can be flown.

good one santanucus...sadly our country makes a hell news of Small things but forgets to do the main thing

Absolutely right

yup..

Usually near the area behind the fountain of joy or right at the centre of the maidan where a road enters the maidan at the end of Elliot Park. I generally fly my quads at the early morning or in the afternoon on Saturdays and Sundays. I avoid the times when Maidan gets crowded. Now of course due to the rains and mud I am not flying. Sure to meet you someday. I will test my Cheerson Cx-20 and a ST360 / APM based quad I am building now (almost finished) after the rains are over. Here's my build thread: http://www.rcindia.org/multirotors/building-apm-2-52-quadcopter-with-st360-kit/

Yes...outskirts of Kolkata are less risky for flying quads. You are fortunate in that respect. Within Kolkata, flying is difficult due to lack of open space and now due to these regulations. Rajarhat is one place I am considering. But its close to the airport. I also like to take aerial photos...that becomes more difficult now.

The last photo I shot from a low resolution cam was of Victoria Memorial at the dawn