Published on: Aug 10, 2025 06:26 am IST
Three units introduced, state to have six more for ‘second line of defence’; CM Mann, highlights that ₹51.4 crore was being spent on the anti-drone units
Chief minister Bhagwant Mann and AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday flagged off Baaj Akh, an anti-drone system, in Tarn Taran to check the smuggling of weapons and drugs through drones from Pakistan.
CM Bhagwant Mann at an event in Tarn Taran.
Three such units have been launched and six others will be introduced soon, Kejriwal said while accusing previous regimes of hobnobbing with drug smugglers. He said the properties acquired by drug smugglers through the illegal drug trade were being demolished. “The smugglers who enjoy luxuries while poisoning society are the enemies of our people. They won’t be spared,” he said.
CM Mann, highlighting that ₹51.4 crore was being spent on the anti-drone units, said the move to set up nine such systems was aimed at strengthening the border security and tackling the challenges posed by drone-based smuggling.
He said the decision was part of the Yudh Nadheyan Virudh (anti-drug war) campaign.”Armed forces and the BSF have been using such systems. Punjab is the first state in the country to deploy the same at the international border. It will give a strong response to drug smugglers from across the border,” he said.
He hailed the security forces for working tirelessly to stop the cross-border drug trafficking. “In 2024, 283 drones carrying heroin, weapons and ammunition were seized. As many as 137 drones have been seized this year. The anti-drone system will be deployed along the border from Pathankot to Fazilka as the second line of defence in coordination with the BSF,” he said.
The chief minister said that any drone entering the state through the border can be immediately neutralised. Previously, the Punjab Police did not have any such system to neutralise drones.
He also said these systems come with automated alert technology, which immediately notifies authorities upon detecting drone movement, thus eliminating the need for manual monitoring. He said that to ensure the successful implementation of this advanced system, coordination will be maintained with BSF, the Indian Air Force, the army and other agencies. Mann said that the anti-drug curriculum has been already introduced in schools under the “war against drugs” campaign with an aim to make eight lakh students aware of the menace.
