Mumbai teams-up with Ham Radio

A new agreement between a major city in India and its ham radio population will mean greater safety for all.

Amateur Radio Newsline's Bruce Tennant, K6PZW, has the details:

Eager to prevent a repeat of the communication failure that occurred during last year's rain storms, the civic council in Mumbai (formerly Bombay), India, has found help from ham radio operators.

This, as the JNA Wireless Association teams up with the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation to set up an Amateur Radio emergency communication system, which switches on when land based telephones or mobile networks fail.

The JNA has put in place a 20-member team that's ready to move to locations where communication is needed for disaster management. This close-knit crew consists of radio
amateurs trained in various aspects of emergency communications and equipped with state-of-the-art amateur radio equipment including satellite gear.

JNA was founded in 1988. It boasts of a dedicated, self-motivated and self-funded scramble team. As a result, the JNA has responded to many natural disasters in India including the 1993 Latur earthquake. In fact, JNA members were the first to reach the city of Killari which was the
epicenter of that tembler, handling thousands of health and welfare messages in addition to post quake damage assessment.

Bruce Tennant, K6PZW
Amateur Radio Newsline

The JNA Wireless Association is named in memory of one of India's pioneering hams in the area of emergency service communications who passed away in 1987. (Bombay News)

Latest news stories..

• Get our news headlines for your website • Submit your news story

From the bookshop   Click here