Seminar on Amateur Radio for Emergency Communication

“We need to collectively work towards strengthening the Emergency Communication System of Nepal and exploring every possibility in this direction is what we need today” stressed Mr. Pradeep Koirala, Under Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs(MoHA), Government of Nepal in a Seminar on “Amateur Radio for Emergency Communication” held on February 12, 2014, at NSET Office, Bhainsepati, Lalitpur. Mr. Koirala further added that Amateur Radio/Ham Radio could be one such option, to work in disaster situation where existing communications systems may not be available.

Mr. Satish Krishna Kharel, Nepal Amateur Radio League (NARL) in his presentation briefed on the concept of HAM Radio, history of HAM and its significance in Nepal. He further pointed out the possibilities for expanding the Amateur Radio network in the country. Mr. Kharel is professionally a lawyer and also a passionate user cum lobbyist of Amateur radio promotion in Nepal.

Mr. Surya Narayan Shrestha, Deputy Executive Director, NSET then shared the use and applicability of HAM Radio in disaster emergencies.
Exploring the possibilities and ways to use Amateur Radio for disaster emergencies, Expanding the HAM Network through NARL, Mobilizing the youth groups for expanding the HAM Network throughout Nepal and Simplification of the exam for obtaining the HAM operators License, were some of the major issues discussed in the program.
The program ended with the Visit of the Repeater Station installed at NSET along with demonstration and hands on use of the equipment.

Mr. Rudra Khadka, Mr. Bamshi Kumar Acharya from MoHA, Mr. Subodh Nepal, Ministry of Information and Communication, Mr. Umesh Prasad Dhakal, Executive Director, Nepal Red Cross Society, and representatives from Nepal Army, Armed Police Force , Institute of Engineering, Plan Nepal and other licensed Ham Operators in Nepal were present in the seminar.

The program was envisioned to focus on exploring possibilities and ways to use Amateur Radio, commonly known as Ham Radio in the post disaster situations as a means of emergency communication. After a large-scale earthquake, for example, the existing communications systems may not be available either due to physical damage or system overload.  Wires to telephones may be damaged and cellular phone towers and antennas may fail or lose power. Emergency Communication Systems which are pivotal in responding to disaster situations therefore should have not only appropriate technology & abundant infrastructures to set up but also need to be with proper backup and redundancy mechanisms. Amateur Radios also known as Ham Radios are the best option to work in such adversities available and adopted globally. Nepal can also benefit from this no-operation-cost technology particularly in case of emergencies not only due to earthquakes but in all types of disaster situations. As Nepal is actually a hotspot for geophysical and climatic hazards and faces high magnitudes and intensities of a multitude of natural hazards such as flood, landslide, earthquake, fire, cyclonic winds and hailstorms, cloudburst, drought, famine, epidemics and many others. Industrial accidents, explosion, traffic accidents and hazardous events associated with poisonous substances are also recorded. Hence Emergency Communication Systems are pivotal in responding all these disaster situations and Ham radio can be one such option even for the last resort.

 Gallery

Media Room

NSET Publications

Gallery