Idukki :

When connectivity is no longer a barrier in this digital age, does using wireless telegraphy for communication make any rational sense? Apparently Yes!

Mathachan Ashan, the first ham radio licensee in the district, is operating it successfully, especially at times of natural calamities.

For Septuagenarian, Puthanpurayil P M Mathew, better known as Mathachan Ashan among his dear and near ones at Ambalakkavala in Kattappana here, ham radio is not just a means of communication, but an integral part of his life. It was in 1982 that he bagged the licence for running a ham radio for the first time in the history of Idukki.

He later upgraded his license to first grade in 1995. The Central Ministry of Communication and Information Technology’s Wireless and Planning and Coordination wing is the authority that provides ham radio licences. Hams have to pass a test consisting of three papers on rules and regulations on ham radio, fundamental theory of radio, and morse code. Now, around 50 hams are there in the district alone.

People used to rely on him for passing urgent messages when even land phones were not so popular and available. So he is still treasuring all his old communication devices. Mathachan Ashan, who got lured into the world of electronics when he happened to see a radio exhibition at his school, also interacts with hundreds of other hams in and out of the country every day through his ham radio.Ham radio plays a crucial role when communication facilities get damaged in disaster like situations and wherever mobile phone coverage is very weak. Even the governments approaches private hams, at times of calamities. The district ham radios were in the forefront to help out the government for communication during Thekkady tragedy and  Pullumedu stampede occurred. Mathachan Ashan remembered how he contacted the relatives of Kattappana natives at the time of Peruman tragedy and Kashmir flood through his ham radio.

“Through the ham radio, I and my friends tracked seven of the doctors from Erankulam who went missing in Kashmir during the flood. “Later, they contacted to thank us. It’s really a great feeling when we realise later that we did a big thing,” says Mathchan Ashan.

source: httpP://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Kerala / by Sruthi Paruthikad / April 25th, 2016