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Himachal: Move over mules, drones to transport Kinnauri apples
After a successful trial of apple transportation by a drone last year, a company is offering the facility to apple growers in the tribal district on a commercial basis, but will it find takers?
For decades, apple growers in the remote Kinnaur district of Himachal Pradesh have been using ropeways and mules to transport their produce from their orchards to the nearest main road so that it can make it to the market. From this harvest season, however, the growers will have the opportunity to transport boxes of luscious apples using drones.
After a successful trial of apple transportation by a drone last year, a private company is offering the facility to apple growers in the tribal district on a commercial basis. “Drone services will be available for transporting apples from August this year. A drone with a lifting capacity of 100kg (five boxes of 20kg) will be used. It will cover a 10-km aerial distance in eight minutes. The proposed fare is ₹6 per kg and may be reduced later,” said Ankit Kumar, the chief executive officer of the company providing the service.
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Most apple orchards in Kinnaur are situated at a high altitude that lacks road connectivity, making transporting a challenge. The cost doubles due to manual transportation of the produce and a perennial labour shortage.
Kinnaur growers produce 30 to 50 lakh boxes of apples annually.
In November last year, a successful trial of transporting apples by drone took place at Nichar in Kinnaur.
Growers, however, are not enthused. “Transporting the boxes by drone will be time consuming. Packaging material will be crucial,” says Bisheshar Negi, an apple grower of Chaunra village in Kinnaur district.
“Using a drone will depend on the weather and it’s expensive at ₹6 per kg. It’s certainly not cost-effective. We should adopt technologies but I’m apprehensive about the rate that has been fixed,” says Sanyukt Kisan Manch convener Harish Chauhan.
Incidentally, the Himachal Pradesh Drone Policy, 2022, envisions creating a holistic drone ecosystem built upon the foundation of Governance and Reforms Using Drones (GARUD). So far, medicines are being delivered to people in the remote areas of Mandi, Chamba and Lahaul-Spiti by drones. Samples are also being taken for health checkups through this facility.
