From fields to floods: Punjab farmer’s drone ferries ration to stranded victims
The farmer said he used his medium-category drone for spraying his crops including sugarcane, mustard and maize.
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Trained at a DGCA-approved centre in Delhi, Chahal holds a drone pilot certificate, which he said costs around Rs 75,000 and is typically required across drone categories. (Express Photo)Jagjeevan Singh Chahal stood over the bridge on the Batala–Dera Baba Nanak road with a controller in his hand. A few meters away, a drone hovered over the marooned areas ferrying dry rations onto rooftops to affected families. For the families in the area, Chahal’s agriculture drone has turned into a lifeline during Punjab floods.
A farmer from Zaffarwal village, in Gurdaspur’s Dhariwal, Chahal said he used his medium-category drone for spraying his crops including sugarcane, mustard and maize. He said the agri drone excels in spraying tall or dense crops, unlike conventional spraying method that fails to hit the canopy top.
In floods, the same top-down precision allowed him to target stranded homes by sight. He described the results as highly accurate with “zero wastage of ration” — a sharp contrast to former air-drops from higher platforms leading to spillage.
Many victims live away from the main village clusters, he said, adding that it is harder for them to reach for relief materials via other means.
Trained at a DGCA-approved centre in Delhi, Chahal holds a drone pilot certificate, which he said costs around Rs 75,000 and is typically required across drone categories. He owns about 21 acres of land.
However, Chahal said his agri drone requires a mobile network connectivity. It can only work roughly in the range of 1.5 km from the controller, he said. As a result it causes signal and control issues in several villages with weak coverage.
In contrast, professional rescue-grade drones can operate without mobile networks, carry hooks or specialised payload mechanisms, offering longer range, he added. While his agriculture model costs roughly ₹8–10 lakh, he estimated the professional units cost around ₹15 lakh.
As the floodwaters cut off farmhouses and dera settlements, local officials connected with him and he volunteered the same drone for the ration drop offs.
District authorities, including the DC office and SDM, also coordinated, he said, adding that initial contact came via the district administration, through the agriculture chief.
Based on the success of the trial drops, he has proposed a district-level project to procure a dedicated professional drone for emergencies so responders aren’t forced to rely on improvised, agriculture-specific equipment during crises. He also indicated plans to meet the DC to formalize this approach.
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