What are Drone Tear Smoke Launchers used by Haryana to disperse protesting farmers at Shambhu border?

The security personnel fired some tear gas shells on farmers at around 8 am today, at the Shambhu border near Ambala as the peasants gathered there to resume their 'Dilli Chalo' protest.

The Haryana government on Tuesday, used drones to disperse the protesting farmers who attempted to breach the barricades placed to block the Delhi borders.

During their protest on Tuesday at the Shambhu border near Ambala, farmers, with the help of tractors, managed to remove some of the cemented barricades and iron nails which were part of the elaborate arrangements made by the Haryana authorities to prevent protesters from heading to Delhi.

Multiple rounds of tear gas shells were released using the Drone Tear Smoke Launchers by the paramilitary Tear-Smoke Unit (TSU), who were deployed at the Shambhu border.

What are the Drone Tear Smoke Launchers?

1 - The Drone Tear Smoke Launchers were introduced during the 42nd governing body meeting of the TSU of Border Security Force (BSF) in 2022.

2- It was first tested in a TSU in Tekanpur, Madhya Pradesh.

3 - They are mainly used by the paramilitary forces to control mobs.

4 - These drone launchers airdrop tear gas shells which can cover a range of up to 400-500 m.

5 - Multiple tear gas shells can be airdropped using these drones.

6 - The BSF had earlier said that these drones 'will be a potential force multiplier for the security forces working in the law and order management domain'.

The paramilitary forces served the initial line of defence followed by the Haryana police which served as the secondary line of defence, at the Shambhu border on Tuesday.

The security personnel fired some tear gas shells on farmers at around 8 am today, at the Shambhu border as the peasants gathered there to resume their 'Dilli Chalo' protest.

The agitators said that the protesting farmers from Punjab plan to make a fresh attempt to break past the multiple layers of barricades at the border with Haryana in an attempt to march to Delhi to press for various demands.

On Tuesday, the farmers had clashed with the Haryana Police at two border points between the states, facing tear gas and water cannons as they tried to break the barricades blocking their protest march to the national capital.

After a face-off with police that lasted several hours on Tuesday, the farmer leaders called off the protest for the day.

The Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) and the Kisan Mazdoor Morcha are spearheading the 'Dilli Chalo' march to put pressure on the Centre for their demands, including a law on Minimum Support Price (MSP) for crops and loan waivers.

With PTI inputs...