HAM operators rescue Russian lady, B’deshi child, sick pilgrims at Sagar
The Statesman | 16 January 2026
At least four persons in various forms of distress were either rescued or assisted by amateur radio (HAM) operators over the last five days at the Gangasagar Mela.
A Russian lady who lost her entire belongings, a Bangladeshi child separated from her mother, a minor girl from Bihar detached from her father, and an elderly person from UP who had suffered a stroke were reconnected with their moorings with the help of the HAM network set up across the greater Mela area.
A 50-year-old Russian lady, Logvinenko Nadedja Nikolaevna, who had converted to Hinduism five years ago, was at Sagar Island on 11 January to take a holy dip. She traveled from Ussuriysk, a small town in Far Eastern Federal district of Primorsky Krai in Russia but lost her bag containing her passport, bank cards, $1500, Rs 7,000 as well as 1,000 Rubles. Most of all, she lost her cellphone and, with it, her connectivity with assistance. Her bag had been snatched, the police surmised, as language was a problem.
The lady broke down after the loss and was taken to the Gangasagar Coastal Police Station. HAM operators positioned there deciphered her language and contacted the Russian Embassy. Koteswar Rao, Superintendent of Police, South 24 Parganas, instructed the volunteers to shift Nikolaevna to the Iskcon VIP tent in the Mela precincts.
“She will be staying there till the Mela ends. The Russian Consulate in Kolkata has requested us to accompany her to its office along with a copy of the police complaint filed by her,” said Ambarish Nag Biswas, secretary, West Bengal Radio Club, today.
A day after the Russian rescue, a baby under three years’ old was spotted crying all by itself. HAM operators Debdutta Mukherjee, Soumik Ghosh and Nilabja Das got to know of this and were able to trace the baby’s mother, Nayona Das, after a couple of hours after they shared the toddler’s picture. They got to know that the mother hailed from the Uttar Hatia locality of Moheshkhali Island in Cox’s Bazar district of Bangladesh. A HAM operator there, Abdul Shakir, was assigned by the Radio Club to locate Nayona’s family, which he succeeded in doing. The baby and her mother were sent home after their holy dips, the police said.
Anjana Pandey (13) of Katoriya ka Tola village in Bihar’s Banka district had lost her mother in last year’s Mahakumbh and was taken to Gangasagar by her father Uday Pandey (45). He had placed her beside the police camp, saying he’d be back. But he did not return. HAM volunteers found him admitted at the health centre, where officials said he had been fortunately rescued from shallow sea in an inebriated condition. He was found gasping for life after he had gulped substantial sea water.
A 64-year-old pilgrim, Sant Lal Kumar of Mall in Lucknow, suffered a major cerebral attack on Tuesday evening and was airlifted to Kolkata by the health care officials yesterday morning. The HAM operators were able to secure communication with his family.
Secretary Nag Biswas said: “We faced hurdles in doing all this. Understanding Russian, located a mother who had infiltrated into India without a valid passport or visa, and tracing a careless father are not easy processes. But thanks to technology, our experience and our networks the world over, we are able to overcome.”
Right from the beginning of the Mela, the operators of West Bengal Radio Club have been stationed on several Gangasagar islands as in previous years. Eight HAM groups are at Kakdwip, Namkhana, Chemaguri, Kochuberia and other locations, and are interlinked through uninterrupted digital radio signals channelised through their mega control hub at Sagar. This hub is, in turn, linked to the international voluntary bandwidth meant for the purpose. The radio volunteers are equipped to make round-the-clock trips to vulnerable locations to help persons in trouble.