Equipped with two 180-degree high-definition cameras (one in the front and one in the back), the aerial vehicle is remote-controlled and once airborne can scan a 10-km area.
"It is powered by rechargeable batteries and is eco-friendly. At a stretch it can go on for 40 to 90 minutes with an average of 60 minutes. If I get help from the authorities, then it can be transformed to function longer," explained Saha, who was born at Kalna in Burdwan district.
The body of the drone has been fabricated from a sturdy form of thermocole available in local markets, while the electronic components have been sourced from abroad via online orders.
"The electronic parts are very expensive in India. So I got a friend to help me out with net-banking and placed orders online," Saha said.
He has been scrimping and saving through all these years to finance his drones. At the last count, he has four other aerial vehicles in stock.
"I used to save the money that I got from winning various competitions over the years. My earnings from giving tuitions also contributed to the budget that stands at Rs. 80, 000 to Rs.1 lakh per drone," said Saha.
Guiding Saha in his efforts is the NGO Prantakatha and Abhijit Mukherjee of the S.N. Bose Centre for Basic Sciences here.
"We provided Saha with the email ids and other contacts. He has been writing to them. A lot of individuals and organisations have shown interest in helping him but so far we have not received any response from the government agencies," Bappaditya Mukherjee of Prantakatha told IANS.
"We are trying to open a dialogue with the central government but if it does not respond, we will go with the private agencies," Saha said.
