INDIA. Mumbai: The Union Defence Ministry banned flying of non-conventional aerial objects (Drones/Unmanned Aerial Vehicles within 03 km of Naval establishment, INS Hamla, located at Marve in Malad West in North Mumbai on Wednesday.
Any non-conventional aerial objects including Remotely Piloted Aircraft System (Drones/UAVs) found violating this prohibition, will be destroyed/confiscated without any liability and actions may be initiated under sections 121, 121A, 287, 336, 337, and 338 of the Indian Penal Code against the operator, the notification stated.
If drone flying is deemed necessary, the operator/agency should obtain approval from Director General Civil Aviation (DGCA) through the Digi Sky website and a copy of the approval letter should be submitted to the INS Hamla, at least one week before the scheduled flying operation, the notification added.
“It is in the no-fly zone where “INS Hamla” is located which comes under the red zone of the digital sky platform. The red zone includes air space near international borders, close to airports, and other strategic locations. The other two zones are yellow-a restricted zone and require air defence clearance and a green zone which is unrestricted for flights. The defence installations in South Mumbai are already under the red zone and flying any non-conventional aerial objects in the area is prohibited, Defence Spokesman Commander Mehul Karnik said.
Administration and Training block of INS Hamla (file pic)
INS Hamla trains Officers and Sailors of the Indian Navy, India Air Force, Indian Army, Indian Coast Guard, Friendly Foreign Navies, and Naval Civilians in Professional Logistics, Management, General Administration including Administration of defence civilians, Information Technology and Culinary Arts and Hospitality Management. The INS Hamla complex comprises a huge playground and a Kendriya Vidyalaya.
Commissioned as “HMIS Hamlawar” on January 15, 1946, during the Second World War, the present site of “INS Hamla” was part of the Combined Operation Training Centres around Mumbai and was known as the Landing Craft Wing. This site also accommodated Boys Training Establishment for a short while during post-independence. The Cookery School and the Supply and Secretariat school were shifted from Kochi to the present location in November 1953. The establishment was re-commissioned as INS Hamla on January 06, 1954.
The establishment also signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Defence Institute of Advanced Technology (DIAT), Pune on June 25, 2018, for certification of the IT Managers and IT Basic courses, being conducted in the unit, for officers and sailors respectively. The establishment has been named ‘Hamla’, an Urdu word, which means ‘to attack’. The crest depicts five swords pointing upwards against the background of Blue and White sea waves.
