Sector 4 residents stopped the installation of a mobile tower atop a ground plus two floor house by Airtel yesterday. It’s unusual for the telecom service provider to opt for such a low-lying house that could not only be harmful to the residents.
Airtel planned to erect a tower on top of this house in Sector 4
House No 228 is right in the heart of a residential area
According to the residents, the person responsible behind the installation attempt was the owner of house number 228. “Although Debnath is the house owner, the No Objection Certiticate (NOC) was signed by his friend living next door,” said resident Kavitha Reddy. “Residents around have stopped the work and the BBMP Joint Commissioner (Bommanahalli) confirmed that he was not even aware that such a permission was given.”
Now the residents have asked the Sector 4 Residents Welfare Association to up this issue with the BBMP and issue a warning to the owner of the house. “Just for the sake of money, people like Debnath and his neighbour are putting the entire locality in danger,” said Reddy. “Telecom towers are banned in residential areas and these people are violating the law and playing with the health of citizens.”
DO MOBILE TOWERS CAUSE CANCER?
According to the American Cancer Society, the radiofrequency waves emitted by mobile towers do not cause DNA damage that can lead to cancer. In London, you will be hard pressed to find a mobile tower, because they are all installed outside the city. What you will see instead of boosters inside the city. In a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by film actress Juhi Chawla in 2015, her lawyer cited this and asked India to follow suit. However, India’s telecom regulatory authority maintains that its standards are 10-times stricter than the global standards. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has made a public statement that the radiation from cell phones. mobile towers and Wi-Fi as “possibly carcinogenic”. In April 2017, the Supreme Court gave a landmark ruling in favour of a cancer patient who alleged that he got it because of a mobile tower next to his office. The country’s highest court ordered the deactivation of the tower.
CHECK THE MOBILE TOWER RADIATION NEAR YOUR HOUSE
A year ago, the ministry of communications set up a mobile tower radiation monitoring website. You can check out if your mobile tower is emitting harmful radiation that is above the standards specified by India. Just CLICK HERE and you are good to go.
