Anti-drone system to be installed in Taj Mahal complex
Agra (UP), May 25 (PTI): The security of the iconic Taj Mahal is set to become more high-tech with the installation of an anti-drone system to counter potential aerial threats, a senior official said on Sunday.
The monument, currently guarded by the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) and Uttar Pradesh Police, will soon have an added layer of protection in the form of advanced drone neutralisation technology, he said.
The move comes days after India carried out precise strikes under Operation Sindoor on nine terror hubs in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir on May 7 in response to the dastardly Pahalgam massacre.
A wave of artillery shelling, missiles and drone strikes were carried out by Pakistan. All such aerial threats were neutralised by the Indian armed forces, highlighting the growing need for anti-drone measures at sensitive locations.
Assistant Commissioner of Police (Taj Security) Syed Arib Ahmad said, “An anti-drone system will be installed at the Taj Mahal complex. The system will have a range of 7-8 kilometers but will be primarily effective within a 200-meter radius from the main dome of the monument.”
“The system will automatically jam the signal of any drone entering the area, rendering it inoperable through what is known as a ‘soft kill’,” he said.
Ahmad added that police personnel are being trained to operate the system, and a dedicated response team is being formed.
“The team will trace the origin point of the drone and secure the area where it is brought down,” he said, adding that the installation of the system is expected to be completed within the next few days.
Taj Mahal, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is one of India’s most visited monuments and a symbol of national pride, making its security a matter of top priority.
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Two injuries, one DNF, a DQ as India end messy World Relays campaign
Gaborone (Botswana) (PTI): Amoj Jacob and Ragul Kumar got injured during the men's 4x400m and 4x100 races respectively as India ended their World Athletics Relays campaign in disappointment on the second day of competitions here on Sunday.
The Indian camp had high hopes of making the 2027 World Championships in the men's 4x400m relay but the team did not finish (DNF) the race as Jacob suffered cramps and pulled out of the race after taking the baton from the first leg runner Dharamveer Choudhary. Rajesh Ramesh and Vishal TK were to run in the third and fourth legs.
Those teams which could not qualify for the 2027 Beijing World Championships by reaching the final round of each of the six relay events on Saturday were given another chance in the second qualification round on Sunday.
The top two teams in each of the two heats (in all six relay events) booked the Beijing ticket on Sunday.
India will now have to try and qualify for the World Championships through the Top Lists of the World Athletics, which is a long and tedious process.
In the men's 4x100m race, third leg runner Ragul Kumar fell down the track after failing to hand over the baton inside the exchange zone to fourth leg runner Gurindervir Singh, which clearly showed the lack of coordination among the runners.
Harsh Santosh Raut and Animesh Kujur ran the first two legs.
The Indian quartet was disqualified and Kumar was seen being taken away from the Field of Play with the help of the volunteers.
It was a comedy of errors in the case of the women's 4x100m race, which saw the baton being dropped during an exchange between first leg runner Tamanna and second runner Nithya Gandhe, though the Indians finished the race in 53.09 seconds.
Gandhe started running quite a distance, but after realising that the baton was not in her hand, she turned and ran back to pick it up.
The only silver-lining for the Indian contingent was the national record time in the mixed 4x100m relay race, though the quartet of Ragul Kumar, Nithya Gandhe, Animesh Kujur and Sneha SS finished sixth in heat number two with a time of 41.35 seconds, bettering the previous national mark of 42.30 seconds set in March in Chandigarh.
The mixed 4x400m relay quartet of Theerthesh P Shetty, Kumari Saloni, Nihal William and Rashdeep Kaur ended at fifth in heat number one with a time of 3 minutes and 19.40 seconds.
On Saturday, all the five Indian relay teams had failed to make it to the respective final rounds and thus missed out on the 2027 World Championships berths.
