New Delhi, May 2: Mobile phones across the country went abuzz after Union Telecom Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia launched the cell broadcast alert system on Saturday that will warn citizens about emergency and natural disasters in their area.
The Department of Telecom had already alerted citizens about the trial run of the service on April 29 to avoid panic, with an appeal to ignore any alerts they receive.
The test message read: “Extremely Severe Alert. India launched Cell Broadcast using indigenous technology, for instant disaster alerting service for its citizens. Alert citizens, safe nation. No action is required by the public upon receipt of this message. This is a test message- Government of India”.
The alert system was sent across the network of all telecom operators across the country, except in poll-bound states.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah said adoption of technologies like Cell Broadcast and CAP will significantly strengthen disaster preparedness, improve governance, and ensure timely and effective outreach to every citizen.
Shah said this while conveying his best wishes on the launch of the cell broadcast alert system that would warn citizens about emergency and natural disasters in their areas, according to a statement issued by the government.
Union Telecom Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia launched the system on Saturday.
“The adoption of advanced communication technologies like Cell Broadcast and CAP will significantly strengthen disaster preparedness, improve governance and ensure timely, effective outreach to every citizen,” Shah was quoted as saying in the statement.
The “swadeshi” system has been designed to ensure rapid and effective dissemination of alerts to large populations during time-critical situations, such as tsunamis, earthquakes, lightning strikes and man-made emergencies including gas leaks and chemical hazards, the statement said.
“This system has been successfully deployed by NDMA across 36 states/UTs and connected to all 5 telecom operators providing mobile services in the country,” it added.
“Union Minister for Communications and Development of North Eastern Region, Jyotiraditya Scindia, today launched the Cell Broadcast Alert System, developed indigenously by C-DOT in collaboration with the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), under the guidance of Home Minister Amit Shah,” the statement said.
The system is based on the Common Alerting Protocol (CAP) as recommended by the International Telecommunication Union, a United Nations agency.
It is currently operational across all 36 states and Union territories of India and delivers disaster- and emergency-related alerts via text messages to mobile-phone users within the geo-targeted areas. (PTI)
