Army kept Bhuj lifeline going

Army kept Bhuj lifeline going
GAURAV C. SAWANT

NEW DELHI, FEB 11: Naik Narayanan was manning the duty room at the Bhuj Army Signal unit on January 26 when the phones fell off the table and the entire room shook.

He rushed out of the room, moments later the dish antennae came crashing down breaking the sole communication link between Bhuj and the rest of the world.

‘‘Though hurt, Naik and his colleagues immediately soldered the dish antennae and restored the link giving the first picture of the devastation to the Army,’’ Major General D.P. Sehgal, additional director general Signals said.

The information was immediately relayed to Lieutenant General G.S. Sihota, Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) who in turn informed the Crisis Management Group ( about the magnitude of the crisis. And for the next three days, the army satellite phone was the sole link between Bhuj and the rest of the country, he said.

‘‘Satellite is a reliable channel of communication for soldiers, especially in areas where line communication is difficult,’’ said Maj Gen Noel Kumar, of Signals Telecommunications.

The army has linked all far-flung border areas to bases and to army headquarters through satellite phones. ‘‘In fact, we have laid special emphasis on connecting Ladakh with the rest of the country and there are two special satellite networks for it. Even far flung posts at 17,000 feet are connected to the base and rest of the country,’’ he said. Incidentally, Signals, has called off celebrations to mark its 91st year since inception. ‘‘We were preparing to celebrate our entry into the 21st century with elan and improved satellite network, but after the quake in Gujarat and the large number of casualties there will be no celebrations on February 15, our Corps day,’’ Sehgal said.

Meanwhile, Signal officer in chief Lt Gen Prakash Gokaran said the army will be completely linked on intranet by 2008. ‘‘Intranet has already been made operational and it would be expanded soon to army wide area network (WAN),’’ Gokaran, said. The networking would enable video-conferencing among officers in operation rooms in various commands.

‘‘This would drastically reduce the time lag between formulation of plans and their execution,’’ he said. ‘‘A number of companies, including some in the private sector, have been contacted for consultancy and implementation of this programme,’’ he said.

Two phases of Army Static Communication Network (ASCON) covering the Northern and Southern regions have started working and the third phase is in the pipeline.

‘‘The third phase will cover communications outside the country and the fourth phase will concentrate on strengthening the network,’’ he said.

He said the government has increased the band width available to the Corps of Signals and three satellite communication systems have already been put in place. The units stationed in remote areas have been provided lightweight communication sets with special batteries that can withstand the conditions there.