Wednesday, June 04, 2008

7 ham radio stations to help tackle deluge this year

Amateur radio enthusiasts to conduct courses for residents
Sayli Udas Mankikar
Mumbai
A PERMANENT radio station was installed at the Acropolis Building on the Little Gibbs Road in Malabar Hill on Monday . A part of the disaster management effort of the municipal corporation, it will work with the six other amateur radio stations in different parts of the city to help in tough times, whether natural like heavy rainfall or man-made like the chaos during public festivals. The station came about as a joint initiative of the municipal corporation with the JNA Wireless Association and the Malabar Hill Residents Association. The spot was chosen because it provided a clear field for the transmission of radio signals. A ham radio course will be conducted for residents by neighbourhood amateur radio enthusiasts from the third week of June. It will enable people to operate various kinds of ham radio equipment to talk with other radio amateurs. The six-month course will begin on June 22 and be held at the Cathedral Infant School on Little Gibbs Road and at the Sathaye College in Vile Parle. "If many of us get on board from different parts of the city it will prove to be an im , portant communication tool during disasters like the 26/7 deluge," said Indrani Malkani, honorary secretary of the Malabar Hill Residents Association. Malkani is spearheading the ham radio cause and hopes to get a sponsor for it. "It is a system that succeeds where all others fail and is an alternative communication device," said Sudhir Shah, honorary secretary of the JNA Wireless Association, one of the oldest ham groups in the city . As of now seven permanent ham stations - three in three ward offices, three private stations and a central station at the BMC headquarters - exist to pass on information in times of need. Now, if the city is ever visited again by a flood like the one on July 26, 2005, the ham stations in Milan Subway Chembur, Kalina, , Nana Chowk, Santacruz and Malabar Hill will be humming. "After the 2005 monsoon deluge, we started working with ham operators," said Vilas Vaidya, head of the disaster management cell of the corporation. "They have become a part of the disaster management system and a great help during Ganpati immersions."

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