South 24-Parganas: Two ham radio mobile stations set up

Kolkata: The ham radio operators in Bengal were in action at the coastal belt of South 24-Parganas where two mobile stations were set up inside two vehicles for immediate intervention in case of any disruption in communication system due to the effect of Cyclone ‘Dana’.

“The district magistrate has instructed us to set up mobile ham radio stations to bridge any connectivity issue arising due to the effect of the cyclone. This is the first time we have set up such stations in two vehicles requisitioned to us for our movement by the district administration. The necessary liaison in this regard was done by Nishith Vaskar Paul, officer in-charge of District Disaster Management Section of South 24-Parganas,” said Ambarish Nag Biswas, secretary of West Bengal Radio Club, an organisation of amateur radio operators in the state. The team also set up two temporary stations with battery power back up at the office of the BDO Kakdwip and Namkhana coastal area.

On Monday, with the assistance of SDO Barrackpore, Sourav Barik, the ham radio team through its repeater at Sodepur did mock drill to examine whether seamless connectivity can be ensured for six districts — South 24-Parganas, North 24-Parganas, Kolkata, Howrah, Hooghly and Nadia. The amateur radio operators have set up two permanent radio stations at Gosaba and Sagar in the backdrop of South 24-Parganas coastal belt being vulnerable to inclement weather conditions and cyclone.