- Time: Around 3 pm
- Date: October 27, 2023
Nitin Maheswari’s phone buzzed but it was not his ringtones. And it continued buzzing.
The phone was vibrating and making a sound that made him think something was amiss. The resident of the Urbana housing complex in Anandapur checked his phone and found it was a “sample testing message” that apparently needed “no action” from his end. He pressed “OK” to stop the sound.
Around 1.20pm, T. Mazumdar of Garia, who had been strictly told by his children who live outside Calcutta to not click on any unknown link or entertain any stranger’s message, was confused when his phone started vibrating and making a “siren-like” noise.
Hundreds of Calcuttans have been receiving a test alert message from the department of telecommunications of the central government, as part of an initiative to test the Pan-India Emergency Alert System that is being implemented by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA).
Many were scared because of the sound their phones made when the message came, while many wondered whether it was an attempt to bug their devices.
“I was scared by the sound that my phone was making. I thought someone was trying to plant a bug in my phone. Then I read the message and found it appeared to have been sent by the Government of India. Without verifying, I just clicked on ‘OK’ to end the noise. The message vanished. My phone fell silent,” said businessman Maheswari.
Mazumdar, a senior citizen, had to seek help to understand what was written in the message and what it meant. His phone continued to buzz till then.
Both received the messages twice — in English and Bengali.
A homemaker in Ballygunge said she thought her phone had been “hacked”.
“There are so many incidents of online fraud where people are cheated by simply clicking on links. I thought this was something like that.... I later verified the matter through an online search engine,” she said.
The test message that landed in hundreds of phones in Calcutta on Friday read: “Emergency alert. Extreme. This is a SAMPLE TESTING MESSAGE sent through Cell Broadcasting System by Department of Telecommunication, Government of India. Please ignore this message as no action is required from your end. This message has been sent to test Pan-India Emergency Alert System being implemented by National Disaster Management Authority. It aims to enhance public safety and provide timely alerts during emergencies. Timestamp (time of receipt of message).”
The NDMA is the apex body for disaster management in India.
Kirti Pratap Singh, NDMA’s advisor (operations and communication), told this newspaper over the phone: “The whole idea is to immediately alert countrymen about any natural calamity or disaster in their areas.”
Everyone in India, he said, will receive the message in phases.