ARLA/CLUSTER: Radioamadores indianos ajudam a juntar as famílias durante os enormes festivais religiosos

[João Costa > CT1FBF]

Radio hams help unite family

The Indian Express reports amateur radio operators helped unite a
Bihar family separated during Ganga Sagar Mela

Lost and with no way to go home, Satyaram Paswan (65) woke up at
Diamond Harbour hospital with no familiar face nearby. His family,
long since assuming he was “lost” at the Ganga Sagar Mela, had
returned to their native Hazipur in Bihar. The district administration
and police turned to amateur radio operators for help. Within 48
hours, Paswan was reunited with his family, giving the government a
possible way to handle the many missing cases at the mela every year.

“We thought he had gotten lost or was dead. He can’t speak Bangla or
Hindi, so it was impossible to communicate with doctors. Somehow, he
has come back to us. This is nothing short of a miracle,” Satyaram’s
son, Pradip Paswan, told The Indian Express.

The West Bengal Radio Club (Amateur Club) comprises of individuals
from different ages — ranging from school students to social workers.
With support from the South-24 Parganas administration and police, and
in association with the state Inter Agency Group (IAG), the club was
looking to aid those who lost their loved ones in the mela. Paswan’s
case, however, was “unique”.

“He was admitted to the hospital, unconscious and without any ID on
him. He wasn’t able to communicate with doctors, the police or the
administration. When we got to know about the case, we sent out
messages to different parts of the country – to the network of amateur
radio operators. We were able to figure out that he was from Bihar,
and then the district. We contacted the police, sending photographs of
him, and after that they tracked down the family,” said Ambarish Nag
Biswas VU2JFA, secretary, Bengal Amateur Radio Club.

Ganga Sagar Mela, also known as Ganga Sagar Yatra or Ganga Snan, is
the annual gathering of Hindu pilgrims to take a holy dip in the
Ganga, where the river merges with the Bay of Bengal at Makar
Sankranti in Sagar Island.

Read the full story at
http://indianexpress.com/article/cities/kolkata/lost-during-ganga-sagar-mela-ham-radio-operators-help-unite-bihar-family/

West Bengal Radio Club
http://wbradioclub.in/