India's first drone station set up in Meghalaya's West Garo Hills to deliver drugs

On Monday, the Jengjal Subdivisional Hospital in Meghalaya's West Garo Hills region unveiled India's first drone station for drug delivery with the air delivery of 1.5 kg of medications to a remote site.

In comparison to the time required by a road, the drone, a certiplane X3 created by a start-up, took just 36 minutes to transport the payload to the Pedaldoba Primary Health Centre.

"This drone is capable of carrying up to 4 kg of payload when in flight. By March 2023, larger drones should be ready to transport up to 25 kg of medical supplies, including anti-snake venom vials and other essentials, according to Ramkumar S., project director of the Meghalaya Health Systems Strengthening Project.

The State government could more easily carry out its ambitions to expand air transportation for farmers in rural locations if it had a fleet of high-capacity drones.

He stated that some options included flying seeds to farmers and moving their agricultural products to markets.
"In Meghalaya, the topography frequently makes it difficult to provide for the needs of the population. Inaugurating the station, State Health Minister James P.K. Sangma stated that the Jengjal Drone Station "should hopefully be the first of many similar stations for ensuring certain services to people in remote locations."

Jengjal, 32 kilometers from Tura, the second-largest metropolitan area in Meghalaya after the capital Shillong, was selected as a key drone station for drug delivery to rural healthcare facilities with accessibility issues within a 50-kilometer range.