A developed country like the United States with its advanced communication system has 7.5 lakh Ham or amateur radio operators and adds one lakh every year.
India with one billion plus population has only 20,000 operators. With cell phone communications badly down after cyclone Hudhud and officials struggling to contact one another, a Ham radio set every five sq km would have been enough to cover Visakhapatnam, says founder and Chief Advisor of Hyderabad-based National Institute of Amateur Radio in India S. Suri (VU2MY).
Now 75, he acquired his licence as Ham operator way back in 1964 when he was working in HAL. He had installed the set for former Andhra Pradesh Minister Mandali Venkata Krishna Rao after the devastating Diviseema tidal wave in 1977.
Mr. Suri was closely associated with former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi who himself was a Ham radio operator. With his mother and the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi showing keen interest, a communication exhibition was organised at Teen Murti Bhavan.
“Later Ham operators played a key role in the 1982 Delhi Asiad and the CHOGM hosted by India in Goa in 1983,” recalled Mr. Suri.
But the number of Ham operators that was 2,000 in 1983 has gone up only to 20,000 by now.
An imported Ham radio set costs Rs.1 lakh but it can be assembled at much less cost and can provide employment and communication at the crucial juncture like Hudhud, says Mr. Suri. With 20 per cent of the cost on advanced communication systems with high maintenance cost Ham radio sets can be operated.
Life member of NIAR, Kolkata, Arya Ghosh, suggests a VHF repeater station atop Kailasagiri for establishing a strong emergency communication network.
HAM operator Yamini (VU2YAM), who took to amateur radio quite early, says one has to pass an examination and has to wait for clearance from seven departments including the Police and Intelligence Bureau. On the other hand SIM cards of cell phones are easily available to anyone, she points out.
In the US and Europe, Ham radio is taken as a hobby and licence is given liberally even to young boys.
