Kolkata: Ham radio enthusiasts from neighbouring Bihar have been instrumental in uniting an elderly person from Jalpaiguri with his family members. Bidyut Bhattacharjee (65), a former employee of Jalpaiguri municipality, fell ill during his visit to Char Dham and was admitted at a private nursing home at Kankarbagh in Patna. He had lost contact with his family members. Bhattacharjee, who is a single, had left from his Jalpaiguri residence a few days ago informing his family members that he is venturing on a trip to Char Dham. During the journey, he fell ill suffering a cerebral attack and some local people in Patna who found him lying unconscious by the roadside and admitted him to a private nursing home. A person, who was involved in the rescue act, somehow managed to contact one of his family members from the call list in his mobile phone. However, he could just tell them that Bhattacharjee was seriously ill and was admitted at a nursing home. The phone was switched off as the battery ran out of charge. The family members couldnt even know the name of the nursing home where Bhattacharjee was admitted. One of the family members, who was familiar with the activities of West Bengal Radio Club, which is an organisation of ham radio enthusiasts in Bengal, called up its secretary Ambarish Nag Biswas. Radio enthusiasts in Bengal immediately contacted their counterpart in Patna and sought their assistance. Within a short time, the elderly person was traced at a private nursing home in Kankarbagh. "Our ham team from Patna led by Sharwan Kumar Singh informed us that the patient needs to be transferred immediately for better healthcare. His family members informed of their inability to travel to Patna in a short time with flood affecting some parts of Jalpaiguri. As I passed the information, our ham team there immediately arranged an ambulance to transfer the patient to Jalpaiguri. However, the driver refused to carry the patient due to waterlogging in Jalpaiguri. We send a request to NDRF and a senior official assured us that he would take care and cross over the patient using their speed boat through the flooded area which cannot be accessed by road vehicles," Nag Biswas said. It was decided that our Patna ham team will carry the patient to a certain distance in the ambulance, then there will be a crossover by NDRF boat and finally his family members stationed outside the flooded area will carry him to a hospital. However, on Wednesday evening it was learnt from the Patna ham team that the patient has become stable. His family members have already reached Patna on Thursday morning. The patient in his current condition does not need transfer. "We feel that such concerted efforts on the part of people from a neighbouring state, the NDRF, our Patna ham team to help out a person in West Bengal in distress deserves special mention," Nag Biswas said.

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