Drone cameras for aerial surveillance during 34th Kalachakra

By Lobsang Tenchoe

DHARAMSALA, August 31: Following a meeting between the Gaya District Magistrate and the organizing committee of the 34th Kalachakra, drone cameras will be deployed for aerial surveillance during the Kalachakra initiation to be conferred by His Holiness the Dalai Lama in Bodh Gaya in 2017.

As the largest Buddhist congregation event to be held over Jan 3 – 13, 2017 is expected to draw hundreds of thousands of people comprising of Tibetan, Indian and foreign devotees from various countries, tough security measures are being taken as it concerns the security of the Tibetan Spiritual leader, the holy Buddhist temple in Bodh Gaya and devotees of the Buddhist faith.

The decision to deploy drone cameras for aerial surveillance was recently taken in a meet convened by the District Magistrate (DM), Kumar Ravi to review the administrative preparations for the event in which more than 2 lakh pilgrims, including a large number of foreigners are likely to participate, reports the Times of India, Aug 30.

Two members of the organizing committee of the 2017 Kalachakra, Choechung Wangchuk, Vice Chair Man and Health Kalon (minister) of the Central Tibetan Administration and Tenzin Lungtok, Additional Secretary of the Department of Religious and Cultural Affairs met with the Gaya DM, Kumar Ravi to review the administrative preparations for the event few weeks back.

The 34th Kalachakra is the fifth of its kind to be held at Bodh Gaya and the first after serial blasts inside the Buddha shrine in July 2013 and elsewhere in the holy city.

Along with the drone cameras, over 100 CCTV cameras would be installed in Bodh Gaya to keep a vigil during the Kalachakra initiation and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams and fire tenders would also be deployed in adequate numbers to meet any eventuality as well, the report adds.