Name: Nilanjan Majumdar
Call sign: VU2HFR (hotel foxtrot Romeo)
Handle (radio nickname): Horey

Majumdar is part of the search and relief operation that is in progress in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. He is doing his bit, right here from Calcutta, high frequency radio (for long distances) in hand. His home in Ballygunge is one of only about two HAM (amateur radio) stations in Calcutta, being used by licensed amateur radio operators keen to help.

The other is by VU2GMT, a Dr Ashish Biswas from Joka. Majumdar and five others, including octogenarian and disaster veteran after the Orissa cyclone Deepak Mitra, Arya Ghosh, Sunil Das and secretary of the Calcutta VHF Amateur Radio Society Nikhilesh Sinha, have been manning the station from December 27, relaying information to and fro, even helping locate the missing.

?Most of the traffic has been about emergency relief information, to the stations in Andamans and also to the Red Cross. But we have been able to relay a few personal messages,? says Majumdar.

The only two civilian radio stations in Port Blair were set up by a HAM team from the National Institute of Amateur Radio in Bangalore, on an expedition to the island from December 3.

?It?s the first time since 1987 that civilians have been allowed to have radio communications from Andamans. When the disaster struck, they immediately turned to emergency operations, the only ones apart from the defence people,? adds Majumdar.

After special government permission, two from the seven-member team set up operations in Car Nicobar, too. On Sunday, a team of 14 ? nine from Gujarat, five from Bangalore ? arrived in Port Blair and will make their way to some of the more remote islands that remain isolated, after delivering supplies to the other team, like batteries for radios.

Back in Calcutta, the team is under pressure. There is a lack of manpower and the calls have been flooding in. While K. Nanu, armyman Rajesh Kumar and Banabir Chakraborty have been found safe and their relatives informed, the Pyne family is missing, as is a group of 13 holidaymakers. Plus, there is a lack of funding to actually travel to the affected areas to help out.

But the effort is a well-coordinated one, spanning the region, several countries and hundreds of amateur radio operators. There are people from Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Sri Lanka, Thailand and even Australia lending their support by relaying information across the frequencies.

?Sometimes, the signal to a station fails because it depends on weather. But, for instance, if we can?t contact Car Nicobar to ask about relief supplies and a radio operator from Sri Lanka can, then he relays the message to them and then back to us,? adds Arya Ghosh.

For help, call 2460 3433.