NAL's drone delivers COVID-19 vaccine at remote Bengaluru location
Bengaluru, Nov 13: In a unique demonstration of technological prowess with a human touch, the National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL) air delivered COVID-19 vaccines through their drone called 'Octacopter' at a primary health centre here on the city outskirts on Saturday.
The Octacopter successfully delivered 50 vials of Covid-19 vaccines along with syringes in a special container from Chandapura PHC to Haragadde PHC, NAL said in a statement.
"CSIR-NAL's octacopter took off at 9.43 am from Chandapura PHC carrying COVID-19 vaccines and delivered it to Haragadde PHC at 9.53 am.
Octacopter flew at an altitude of 300m AGL at a speed of 10 metres per sec and covered an aerial distance of about 7 kms in about 10 minutes," the NAL, a constituent of Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), said.
After delivery of vaccines at Haragadde, the drone returned to Chandapura PHC, NAL said adding, the entire mission has covered distance of about 14 km in 20 minutes including delivery of vaccines.
"It usually takes about 30 to 40 minutes to deliver vaccines to Haragadde from Chandapura by road.
The Doctors at PHCs were delighted to witness the demonstration of the fast and safe aerial delivery of vaccines," Dr Manisha of the Karnataka Health Department was quoted as saying.
The medical officers expressed happiness and complimented CSIR-NAL for their societal cause and assured support to continue the joint initiative to remote places in the coming days.
Dr P V Satyanaraya Murthy, Head of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle division, at CSIR-NAL congratulated his team and said the Octacopter was the need of the hour for delivery of vaccines in the remote areas.
"NAL Octacopter is perfectly designed for such a mission which is easy to operate by unskilled operators. NAL has already tied up with private firms for drone manufacturing and offering operational services," NAL quoted Murthy as saying.
It said the Octacopter is an indigenously developed medium class BVLOS multi-copter UAV.
The UAV is made out of light weight carbon fiber foldable structure for ease of transportation and has unique features like autonomous guidance through dual redundant MEMS based digital Autopilot with advanced flight instrumentation systems, the NAL said.
It further said that the Ministry of Civil Aviation has granted conditional permission to CSIR-NAL for conducting BVLOS flight trials on Saturday.
The Octacopter can carry a payload of 15 kg with hovering endurance of 40 minutes. It can fly at an operational altitude of 500 m AGL and at maximum flying speed of 36 kmph.
"Its regulatory compliance includes DGCA-NPNT, Geo fencing and digital sky with 360 degree Collision avoidance making it one of the best UAV in its class.
Octacopter developed by NAL can be used for variety of BVLOS applications for last mile delivery like medicines, vaccines, food, postal packets, human organ's etc," the NAL said.
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CM Siddaramaiah alleges ‘criminal conspiracy’ in Sringeri recount, vows legal action
Bengaluru (PTI): Alleging a “criminal conspiracy” by BJP candidate D N Jeevaraj in the Sringeri Assembly poll recounting, Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah on Tuesday said the outcome was manipulated after valid postal ballot votes in favour of Congress leader T D Raje Gowda were tampered with during the recounting process.
Following a Karnataka High Court order on an election petition filed by Jeevaraj, challenging Raje Gowda’s election, the reverification and recounting were conducted on Saturday.
After the reverification and recount of postal ballots for the Sringeri Assembly constituency, votes polled in favour of Raje Gowda were reduced by 255, the returning officer said.
A report on the matter has been submitted to the Election Commission of India for further action, the officer added.
Congress leader Raje Gowda had won the 2023 Assembly polls from Sringeri by 201 votes, defeating his nearest rival Jeevaraj.
Addressing a press conference in Bengaluru, Siddaramaiah said the High Court had directed the recounting of postal ballots and that irregularities were noticed during the exercise conducted on May 2.
“This is a clear case of criminal conspiracy,” Siddaramaiah said, alleging that valid votes cast in favour of Raje Gowda were altered after being accepted by counting agents of all parties, including Congress, BJP, and JD(S).
He claimed that during the recounting of postal ballots, 255 votes were initially accepted as valid by all agents but were later tampered with by subordinate officials.
“There is a second mark on the votes polled in favour of Raje Gowda. They had accepted these as valid votes. Subsequently, another mark was made by officials. This is a clear case of criminal conspiracy,” he said.
When asked who was behind the alleged conspiracy, the CM replied, “It was hatched by Jeevaraj and others. It is planned.”
Siddaramaiah further alleged that the returning officer acted improperly by declaring the result despite the presence of an Election Commission observer during the recounting.
“Immediately after the counting, the returning officer announced the result. He should not have done so; this is against the law,” he said.
He pointed out that Raje Gowda had originally won by 201 votes, but after the recounting, the BJP candidate was declared the winner by 52 votes.
“The BJP has committed a criminal act of conspiracy. This is not vote chori but vote dacoity,” he alleged.
The CM said a police complaint had already been filed by Raje Gowda’s election agent, Sudhir Kumar, and emphasised the need for electoral integrity.
“We want transparency and free and fair elections. That is what our Constitution mandates,” he added.
Stating that the government would pursue legal remedies, Siddaramaiah said, “We are preparing an appeal challenging the returning officer’s announcement in a court of law.”
Responding to a separate query on elections in other states, the CM said there appeared to be an anti-incumbency factor in West Bengal, while results in Tamil Nadu were “surprising,” adding that Vijay’s party was emerging as the largest there.
Following the victory of party candidates in Bagalkote and Davanagere South, Siddaramaiah expressed confidence about future electoral prospects in Karnataka.
“Even in 2028, we will win the Assembly elections. We will come back,” the CM said.
Siddaramaiah added that he would order a forensic examination into the alleged tampering of postal ballots.
