The Experience of Handling Banga Bhawan Control Room for Uttarakhand Floods

Today (3rd July 2013) I am back to my normal office duty after being a part of the " Banga Bhawan Control Room" from 19th June to 2nd July. This control room was set up at the "Banga Bhawan", West Bengal Govt's state guest house, to monitor the search and rescue operation of the tourists from West Bengal who were stranded in Uttarakhand. Some of us from the Office of the Resident Commissioner in New Delhi were handling the control room, while of number of other people, including our Principal Resident Commissioner Sir, had gone to Uttarakhand to handle the ground level situation there.

It was a first-of-its-kind experience for me to be a part of the control room, which I worked for while handling the VIP Protocol duties that came my way. It was a mixed experience. It was a touching and charming experience when I would call up somebody and told him that we could trace his relative/friend in Uttarakhand, and he would be so happy and elated, and would thank us so profusely. And at the same time I had the painful experience of answering the call of an anxious person only to tell him that there was still no news about his friend or relative.

The assignment was demanding, but I loved being a part of it. It was so different from my usual job profile of providing protocol service to dignitaries.

I congratulate from my heart those families who have got back their loved ones. And my heartfelt condolences for the families whose loved ones have fallen victims to the devastation that will haunt our nation as a nightmare for many years.

WWW.FLIGHTSTATS.COM – A GREAT WAY FOR A FLYER TO KEEP TRACK OF THE FLIGHT SCHEDULE

If you are a frequent flyer, then www.flightstats.com is a great and effective way (if not the best way) for you to keep a track of the flight schedules, i.e. the Scheduled Time of Arrival/Departure and Expected Time of Arrival/Departure. www.flightstats.com keeps making a real time tracking of every flight, and keeps informing people about any change (delay, etc.) in a flight's Scheduled or Expected Time of Arrival/Departure. The updating takes place at an interval of virtually a couple of minutes. 

All you have to do is to just log on to www.flightstats.com and type the flight name, like 6E 206, AI 701, etc. Or you can just type the flight name in Google (by accessing the Internet through any device including your mobile handset), and the www.flightstats.com information will appear at the very top. 

The best thing of www.flightstats.com is that you do not have to call up the office of the concerned airlines again and again, and at the same time you will get an information that may be more accurate than the one provided by the airlines people.

Last but not the least, I have not been paid by anybody to advertise www.flightstats.com As a Protocol Officer I often have to keep track of airlines schedules. I have personally found www.flightstats.com to be very helpful in this regard, and wanted to share it with you people as I felt many of you would benefit from this information.