The octogenarian woman got out of the car to go to the bathroom and was unfortunately separated from her family.
Posted on – Wed, 24 May 23 at 04:50pm
Hyderabad: Operators in Kolkata and Vijayawada proved once again that ham radio can be a resourceful communication channel, helping an elderly Telugu woman who got lost Calcutta Reunited with her family at Vizianagaram.
Sita Rao and her family visited West Bengal in 2021 and traveled to attend the famous Gangasagar Mela. The octogenarian woman got out of the car to go to the bathroom and was unfortunately separated from her family.
Since then, she has been living on the streets of Kolkata with nowhere to go until February this year, when the local police rescued her with a broken leg and ribs in an accident. They admitted her to Sambhunath Pandit Hospital.
According to Ambrish Nag Biswas, secretary and custodian of the West Bengal Broadcasting Club, police and hospital staff were unable to assist the woman due to a language barrier. “As Ham operators, we are often consulted in these situations, as we have had success in the past reuniting missing persons with their families,” he said.
They were contacted about 15 days ago by the hospital’s director, Dr. Shubroto De, who knew about the work of Ambrish and his team.
“We took all the details from the hospital, took pictures of her and sent them to all the Ham operators we know in South India. Fortunately, Azad Ramesh Babu, a Ham radio operator from Vijayawada able to identify the woman’s grandson,” he added.
The family breathed a sigh of relief after an emotional video call with the woman four days ago. Thanks to the efforts of the ham operator, Ravi Kumar, Sita Rao’s grandson, will soon reach Kolkata and take the old woman back to her home.
