Three VHF (very high frequency) temporary radio centres have been floated in the Sundarbans region of South 24-Parganas today to help the emergency communication after landfall of cyclone Dana.
Besides, two mobile radio stations, installed in two dedicated vehicles, have also been introduced by the West Bengal Radio Club officials and experts. A 27-member HAM team was assigned by the district administration as an alternative communication system when cellular phones had collapsed during the cyclone Remal in May, early this year. Today, the WBRC team reported to Nishith Vaskar Paul, OC, district disaster management section, South 24-Parganas. “We’ve installed three stationery base units at Kakdwip, Gosaba and Sagar Islands, besides two mobile units,” said Ambarish Nag Biswas, secretary, WBRC.
HAM operators are capable of communicating using Morse code, voice and digital formats, the options becomes highly essential during such extreme calamities like cyclone as it works Independent of cellular telephony.