The Client

In the UK BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha is one of the largest and most active Hindu organisations within the Indian diaspora.

BAPS is a spiritual, volunteer-driven fellowship dedicated to improving society through individual growth by fostering the Hindu values of faith, service and global harmony.

BAPS mandirs – or temples – can be found across the UK and as well as being places of worship, promote humanitarian, community and cultural activities.

Business Needs

BAPS organises a range of major religious and cultural events, focused around the temples in London and other major locations around the UK.

Key among these is Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights which celebrates the triumph of good over evil and reminds adherents to a reminder to “dispel inner darkness with the light of God’s presence.”

Hindus mark Diwali by decorating their front yards and gardens with colourful decorations and lighting the street with oil lamps.

BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir in Neasden hosts one of the largest Diwali celebrations in the UK, with events in Birmingham, Chigwell and Leicester attracting tens of thousands of people.

In order to safely manage both staff and crowds, BAPS requires an efficient and effective communication system which can be used by members of various departments. These include BAPS’ security, parking, baggage storage and medical teams.

For many years the organisation has turned to Avoira’s specialist two-way radio hire division for professional assistance.

“BAPS primarily uses two-way radios for departmental communication across multiple teams during the annual Diwali celebrations, held at four major Hindu temples across the UK,” explains Baps’ Operations Manager for London Mandir, Yatin Patel.

“They are also utilised during other large-scale events at the BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir in Neasden to ensure smooth coordination and efficient operations.”

The Solution

In order to best serve BAPS’ communications needs, Avoira liaises with Yatin to determine the requirements both across teams and sites.

“We start by determining the number of radios needed for each of the eleven teams. This information is then shared with Avoira, along with the required number of radio channels, all-channel radios, and the radius that needs to be covered to ensure effective communication between the temple and the offsite car park,” says Yatin.

“We also specify the duration of use to ensure Avoira provides adequate batteries, charging blocks, and ear-pieces to meet our requirements.”

Typically, BAPS hires between 250-300 handsets, with Avoira currently recommending Motorola’s MOTORTRBO DP4400e digital two-way portable radios. This is kit with which Yatin and his colleagues are very familiar as they are in daily use at Neasden temple.

Combining rugged design with high performance, integrated audio and data functionality, these offer up to 32 channels and a host of useful functions, including man down, event driven location update and a channel clearing emergency button.

Call clarity is delivered using intelligent audio and noise cancelling technologies, whilst a smart management system provides for up to 22 hours battery life.

These are complemented at BAPS’ larger temples – Neasden and Birmingham -by up to three repeaters and two Ofcom-licensed Motorola MOTOTRBO DM4400 digital mobile radios.

The former ensure optimal signal coverage across the operational area, whilst the latter are provided with all channels pre-programmed to facilitate use by security managers.

The Benefits

Having completed a soft launch in April 2024 that enabled further refinement of the conversational framework, the solution was rolled out across the full sales team the following month.

Yatin is impressed with not just the functionality and performance of the Motorola kit, but the service and support provided by Avoira’s specialist two-way radio team.

“The hiring of these radios plays a critical role in maintaining the safety and security of the thousands of visitors who walk through the temple gates,” he reports.  “We have consistently experienced excellent ease of use, call quality, and functionality, with no issues in any of these areas throughout our longstanding partnership with Avoira.”

Noting that BAPS’ 15-year relationship with Avoira itself “speaks to the quality of service,” he further enthuses that: “Avoira consistently provide a cost-effective solution while delivering excellent customer service.

“They accommodate last-minute changes to orders with ease, offer flexible payment terms, and never attempt to upsell unnecessary products.

“Their technical support is exceptional, ensuring any issues are resolved promptly and efficiently. This combination of reliability and outstanding service has earned our continued loyalty.”