The Calcutta VHF Amateur Society has been participating in Ganga Sagar operations for the last three years. Every year during Makar Sankranti ( an auspicious festival in India ) on the 14th and 15th of January approximately half a million people gather at Sagar island for Ganga Sagar Mela, in the Bay of Bengal where the river Ganges meets the ocean. The island is located in the estuarine region of the river Ganges and is one of the many delta islands in the " Sunderban " areas, the worlds largest mangrove forests(Realm of the Royal Bengal Tiger).The C.V.A.R.S. team operates there upon request from the district administration to assist them in maintaining an emergency Amateur Radio link at all the cross over points from the mainland and the island. The links are utilised for locating missing persons and reuniting families scattered across various points and also to maintain an emergency line of communication from the mainland to the island. Sagar 2002 is partly being funded by "Island Radio Expedition Foundation, Inc. (IREF)" (www.sat.net/~iref) who have been extremely helpful and have been the first organisation to have extended their helping hand. Special mention must also be made of the RSGB IOTA body and OM Arasu, VU2UR (Regional MS Coordinator, IARU Region 3.) fron Bangalore for their patience and guidance in obtaining the IOTA status AS-153 for Sagar island after Sagar 2001. Our sincere thanks to " Mediterraneo DX Club, MDXC" (www.mdxc.org) for sponsoring the Sagar QSL and agreeing to be our QSLmanager.

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