kolkata the election commission ec will make use of amateur radio operators to maintain communication links at remote locations in bengal that are not connected by strong cellphone networks according to ambarish nag biswas secretary west bengal radio club wbrc who has received clearance from the ministry of communication to assist polling personnel during the fifth and seventh phases of the lok sabha polls this is the first time that amateur radio operators will be used for this purposethe names of 31 members of our club have been cleared by the ministry even the district magistrate of north 24 parganas who is also the district election officer deo has communicated that our members will receive all logistical support in the form of vehicles space batteriespower source accommodation and food i feel that this is a giant step towards the use of amateur radio for the general good our aim is to spread the message about how this hobby can come in handy during emergencies and natural crises nag biswas saidthe ham operators will be deployed at 31 polling stations in remote parts of the bongaon barrackpore dum dum barasat and basirhat lok sabha constituencies the sets they use will allow polling officials to remain in touch with observers and those at the district level while security personnel will be using their own communication equipment the amateur radio operators will create a dedicated network for civilian officials a system will be in place through which officials at the polling stations will be able to directly communicate with observers and others in case of a query from the deo or his staff the person in charge of a booth will be able to clarify immediately all those who have been selected were trained by the indian academy of communication and disaster management the communication network will be alive as long as the officials want nag biswas addedthe selected ham operators will work between may 4 and 20 in the mobile shadow zones and operate on authorized amateur bands without interfering with any other set