The district administration in South 24-Parganas, assisted by a private company, has installed nearly 30 emergency mobile phone recharging stations in remote areas of the district, a little over a week after Cyclone Amphan took down electricity poles and plunged over 90 per cent of the Sunderbans into darkness.
Sources said around 56,000 electric posts carrying overhead wires were uprooted during the storm, and despite teams working around the clock, a date on full restoration of power was still unclear to officials. In light of the uncertainty, district officials took the first step of ensuring mobile phone power and connectivity.
“An automotive battery manufacturing company is helping us to give the service. Thousands of people from this district are migrants and are stuck across different states. They need to contact their families. The facility will help such families,” said P. Ulaganathan, the South 24-Parganas district magistrate.
“Most mobile service providers have restored their connectivity, so people can get network. It is also important for us to be connected with other affected areas. For this, we need our phone batteries to be charged too,” Ulaganathan added.
Senior officials said the charging stations were being provided by Amaron, which had taken a similar step in Kerala after the devastating floods last year.
“Such mobile charging stations made a huge difference in Kerala last year,” said a senior official in Kakdwip, explaining that crews from the company were installing the mobile charging stations across areas including Kakdwip, Gosaba, Sagar Island, Patharpratima and Namkhana and six other islands.
“The stations are large, and are being taken to the islands by boat,” the official explained and added that service had already started in areas including Frasergan, Haripur, Shibrampur and Kakdwip.
“I am so relieved. I have many relatives who are in Calcutta and outside the state. I was finally able to enquire about their situation,” said Amaresh Gounia, a resident of Fraserganj who charged his phone at the local gram panchayat on Saturday.
