Gangasagar gets country's first 'lighthouse on air' for ships in Bay
Times of India | 15 January 2024
KOLKATA: Gangasagar on Sunday got India's first "lighthouse on air" - a facility that provides radio connection to every ship sailing across Bay of Bengal. Like the lighthouse that emits light from a system of lamps and lenses, the lighthouse on air operates like a beacon of radio waves. It operates with multiple radio frequencies, which can communicate with ships and operators in other countries.
"This is the first lighthouse on air in India and is being operated as per the guidelines set by the Indian government. It also maintains the necessary parameters for the lighthouse on air, set by the Radio Amateurs France," said Ambarish Nag Biswas, founder of the West Bengal Radio Club.
The concept of lighthouse on air was introduced by amateur radio operators across the world, especially to establish maritime communications, connecting lighthouses and lightships.
The amateur radio operators in Bengal approached Directorate General of Lighthouses and Lightships for nod to operate from the 203-year-old lighthouse at Gangasagar. It gave permission to the operators to set up and operate without hampering lighthouse functioning.
Lighthouse on air raised awareness about the HAM radio and lighthouses that are becoming defunct in the age of satellite navigation.
With an elevation of 85 feet, the lighthouse at Gangasagar catered to the ships sailing mainly from countries like China, Bangladesh, Singapore, Myanmar and Srilanka. Set up in 1821 by Chance Brothers, Birmingham, England, the lighthouse was relocated to its present area in 1911.
"The government agencies which use radio frequencies are allocated specific bandwidth for the purpose. The amateur radio operators, who also use a specific frequency, have more options to operate in terms of flexibility of usage. It can even work as a bridge between different agencies using different frequencies," Nag Biswas said.
Volunteers started setting up the lighthouse on air and established radio frequency stations using low power. They connected to at least 30 operators from different countries within an hour. "We could connect to more than a hundred amateur radio operators within the period putting Gangasagar on the map of lighthouses-on-air. The latitude, longitude and grid data can be useful in the future especially during the disasters," said Sandipan Basu Mallick, executive member of the society.
It has also put India on the map of light beacons across the world that can connect with every island on the seas. These radio signaling systems will become useful during natural calamities.
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