 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||
|
|
 Previous: In Brief |  Next: Two Hams Aboard as Atlantis Ferries Destiny Lab to ISS |
NEWINGTON, CT, Feb 8, 2001--Hams assisting with earthquake relief operations in the Indian State of Gujarat are even taking advantage of the UO-14 amateur FM satellite as they continue providing communication from the stricken region. Hams within the quake zone and those keeping touch from the outside also have found themselves caught up in the human tragedy. The death toll from the quake now is estimated at up to 50,000 and could rise higher. Even more were injured, and one estimate says more than 600,000 were left homeless.
On UO-14 this week, Bangalore-based Guru Rao, VU2GUR, contacted Sandeep Shah, VU3SXE, a Gujarati Bangalorean engaged in relief work in Gujarat with other amateurs. "His group is busy around the clock providing communication support for the ongoing relief work," said Raj Kumar, VU2ZAP, another Bangalore ham who's been following the Amateur Radio effort. "Guru and Sandeep were quick to seize the opportunity and roped in the amateur satellite UO-14 to maximize all possible communication routes."
While some telephone service in the earthquake zone has been restored, Amateur Radio was the primary link to the outside world in the immediate aftermath of the January 26 earthquake. Like the quake victims themselves, Amateur Radio volunteers in the region at one point were sleeping in the open because of a lack of tents.
Both VU2GUR and VU3SXE belong to the Bangalore Amateur Radio Club, which has several members in the earthquake zone. Shah, who's a jeweler by profession, accompanied a team of physicians to the Ahmedabad-Gandhinagar region in Gujurat.
 Chandru Ramachandra, VU2RCR, operates his ham gear from the back of a medical supplies relief truck in the hard-hit city of Bhuj. [Dr. T. Venkatesh of St. Johns Hospital, Bangalore, Photo] |
Another Bangalore amateur, Chandru Ramachandra, VU2RCR--a former UNESCO official--decided to drive his SUV to Bhuj, 1700 km distant. Carrying a medical team and some 400 kg of gear and supplies, he set up a station to establish a link between Bhuj and Bangalore. Ramachandra, who is retired and 72 years old, continues relief work with a second medical team.
As of a few days ago, 18 amateurs from the State of Karnataka were handling communication regarding placement of doctors and medical supplies as well as health-and-welfare inquiries into areas where the telephone system is still out.
"This has become a practical exam showing our capability, preparedness in disaster management," said Lion Ajoy, VU2JHM, who's president of the Bangalore Amateur Radio Club. He says the Indian government has empowered local jurisdictions to use ham radio to assist in the wake of disasters when normal telecommunications facilities fail. According to one Indian media account, however, hams in India have complained that because ham radio is considered a hobby, they are not taken seriously by politicians. India has upwards of 30,000 licensees, but only a relative few are active.
Most of the earthquake-related traffic continues to be handled via HF on 40 and 20-meter SSB, although some VHF FM links have been established for local work in Gujarat. Stations are handling health-and-welfare traffic on 14.160 MHz. Amateurs in the hard-hit city of Bhuj have set aside 14.260 MHz for the same purpose. Indian amateurs have asked the worldwide amateur community to keep clear of these and other frequencies being used in the earthquake relief effort.
VU2ZAP also has agreed to accept earthquake-related inquiries via e-mail from the US to vu2zap@yahoo.com and says he will do his best to assist those seeking information. He asked that all inquiries include all possible information, in particular telephone numbers, but he emphasized that he cannot guarantee a reply.
Some hams in areas of India distant from Gujarat have expressed their frustration at not being able to directly assist, citing the high costs of traveling there. Horey Majumdar, VU2HFR, says hams in Calcutta, where he lives, have been able to locate and pass along information about the well being of several individuals. "However, the best option would have been to have our own team from Calcutta at Bhuj," he said. Majumdar was part of a team from Calcutta that responded in the wake of the cyclone disaster last year in Orissa. But, he lamented, "We do not have the funds nor the coordination with the local nongovernmental organizations to mount an operation of this scale" in the earthquake zone.
 Chandru Ramachandra, VU2RCR, visits the town of Bachao, 30 km from the epicenter of the magnitude 7.9 earthquake. Ramachandra is past president of the Repeater Society of Bangalore; he's a life member of both the Amateur Radio society of India and the Bangalore Amateur Radio Club. [Doc Venkatesh, VU2COC, Photo] |
"I think this incident epitomizes the key role played by ham radio after an incident of this magnitude," Majumdar said. "There must have been thousands of families like this."
Majumdar says handling some of the H&W inquiries has been tough for him, and he suspects other hams have had similar experiences. In one case, he was contacted by the family of a technician at the Air Force base in Bhuj. Via ham radio, he got the information from the quake zone, but it was not good news. "It was extremely difficult for me to convey to their family that this person, his wife and 7-month-old daughter didn't make it," he said. "Their house had caved in completely, and even their bodies could not be recovered." He said the man's relatives were, nonetheless, grateful to know what had happened.
Outside amateur help also has arrived. Among other efforts, the International Amateur Radio Union has dispatched two members from Japan to India to help with the disaster relief. The IARU team will join the Amateur Radio Society of India and other hams to set up VHF and UHF equipment donated by Japanese non-government organizations.
Pat McPherson, WW9E, of the Salvation Army Team Emergency Radio Network says the Salvation Army continues to aid those left homeless by the earthquake two weeks ago. "The Salvation Army is providing tents, capable of housing six to eight people, in Bhuj, where he earthquake caused the greatest damage," he said. McPherson said his organization also is helping to provide food and medical care, but the primary need appears to be housing.
| Previous: In Brief | Next: Two Hams Aboard as Atlantis Ferries Destiny Lab to ISS |
