THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Rescue operations in Pettimudi, the site of the Friday's major landslide in Idukki district, received a shot in the arm after the damaged communication network of state-owned BSNL, the only mobile operator in the remote area, was swiftly restored.
The heavy rain, strong winds and landslide had damaged the mobile communication facility set up by BSNL in Pettimudi and also in Rajamala factory.
With power lines remaining snapped for hours on end, ensuring generator backup througout was also out of the question.
Sub Divisional Engineer Shinoj J Vattakuzhi, Junior Telecom Officer Prasanth VB and another staff set out from Adimali to restore communication at 9.00 am, half an hour after they recevied the news of the mishap. However, they could not reach the spot as a bridge along the approach road was totally washed away forcing them to take a circuitous route through the forest.
"The Devikulam Sub Collector arranged transportation for us in the DFO's vehicle as the alternate route was through a very rough terrain. After an arduous four hour journey, we reached the spot. By the time officials of Kannan Devan Plantations had arranged a generator that could be connected to the mobile tower," Prasanth told The New Indian Express.
Restoring network in Rajamalai factory was easy but the tough task was repairing the damaged antenna at the base transceiver station (BTS) in Pettimudi braving the heavy rain. Unlike normal BTSes, the one in Pettimudi is linked directly to the satellite through VSAT, due to lack of any optical fibre link. Meanwhile, senior officials of BSNL rose to the occasion and obtained the necessary clearances for increasing the satellite bandwidth by four times despite the huge costs involved.
"We realised that the call load would be very high in the aftermath of the mishap and the ongoing rescue operation. By increasing the bandwidth, the network could handle more than 2,000 calls per hour which was quite expected in such a crisis situation," said K Francis Jacob, Principal GM, BSNL, Ernakulam.
Thanks to the restoration of communication facility within hours, the tardy pace of rescue soon picked up momentum, a fact acknowledged by various teams engaged in rescue operations on the ground.