HAM radio team tunes into relief work

1 Jun 2009, 0354 hrs IST, Suman Chakraborti, TNN

KOLKATA: A three-member team of the Hyderabad-based National Institute of Amateur Radio (NIAR) will reach the city by Monday night with HAM radio equipment to help the state government in relief work. The team has been requested by the state government to set up makeshift radio stations in the flood-affected areas of South and North 24-Parganas.NIAR director Ram Mohan said they had received a letter from the North 24-Parganas district magistrate's office, asking them to send HAM radio equipment to the flood-affected areas of the district to help them in conducting relief and rescue work."We received a letter from the additional DM of North 24-Parganas to assist them in the flood-affected areas of the district. We are immediately sending a team to Kolkata with satellite radio equipment," said Ram Mohan.He added that since a week has passed since the storm Aila hit the state, they were not quite informed as to the present situation. "We have been informed that the situation in some of the flood-affected places of the district has improved a little. We are trying to keep in touch with the district administration to keep us informed on the present situation. Nevertheless, we are sending our team and equipment," Ram Mohan said.HAM radio expert Ambarish Nag Biswas, who has been selected as one of the coordinators to monitor the temporary radio stations, said they would help the government keep track of the present situation. "Apart from informing those who are engaged in rescue and relief work as to where people might still be stranded, we wouldbe able to keep track as to whether any outbreak of disease occurs or whether anybody goes missing. These problems occur when the water level starts receding. We would subsequently be able to inform the DM immediately so that they can take quick action. We have been asked to set up these temporary radio stations at Dhamakhali, Kultoli and Sandeshkhali and we would have to move on as per situation," Biswas said.Two others Parag Ranjan Das and Subhadip Chatterjee would also be in the team. The team will use VHF and HF frequency to keep track of the situation.

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