Friday, January 14 2005 11:48 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Cuddalore: On the fateful day of December 26, when all forms of communication had failed between the headquarters and the field officer in most of the coastal villages of this district hit by the tidal waves, it was HAM radio network that provided the vital links.

A team of HAM radio experts reached in Cuddalore from Bangalore and immediately restored the communication link.

"Ham radio, which can literally be carried in a suitcase and needs a single person to operate, was appreciated here for the first time when the district collector tried to contact the villages more than 40 kms away from the Cuddalore headquarters and failed since they are not covered by cell phone range and electricity was snapped," Secretary of Upagraha Amateur Radio Club of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) B A Subramanya told sources in Cuddalore.

An eight-member team of Ham experts led by Subramanya were called in by the collector from Bangalore to provide that crucial link to far-flung villages which were hit badly by the tsunami.