India's Antarctica Station At Par With World: Geologist


Kolkata: Thirty years after she first set foot on Antarctica, celebrated geologist Sudipta Sengupta — one of the first Indian women to visit Earth's southernmost continent in 1983 — said improved technology has brought Indian stations on the ice at par with the world.

Describing her experience in the 'continent of science', as "once in a lifetime chance", she highlighted how easy communication from the stations to any part of the world has become in the 21st century.

Sengupta and marine biologist Aditi Pant were part of the Third Indian Expedition to Antarctica that ran from December 3, 1983, to March 25, 1984. Her pioneering work in the Schirmacher Hills of East Antarctica — a line of low coastal hills — boosted further study in the area.

"There is a tremendous difference in the technology in the stations...when we went and now... now it is at par with the stations put up by other countries," Sengupta told IANS on the sidelines of the Presidency University Lecture Series.

"We used much cruder instruments back then," said Sengupta, recipient of the Antarctic Award.

She explained: "When we went there, we were totally isolated from the rest of the world. There were satellite phones on the ship and they were established on the station also, but it was so expensive that we were only allowed three minutes of talk-time per month. Now talking is no problem ... communicating is no problem."

One of the major achievements of the 81-member team of the third Indian expedition was setting up of the maiden Indian station — the 'Dakshin Gangotri'. The first expedition was flagged off in 1981 that signalled the commencement of the Indian Antarctic Programme.

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Source: IANS