RANCHI: The erratic installation of
mobile towers in the state have robbed Ranchiites of their sleep. Residents who
have base transceiver stations (BTS towers) or mobile towers, installed atop
their houses and near their flats are complaining of losing sleep. Some of them
have complained of high-irritatibility as well. They are being advised by
doctors to shift to a place which has lesser number of mobile towers to get
good sleep and restore calm of mind.
M B K Sinha, the assistant
professor of Rajendra
Institute of Medical Sciences
(RIMS), said it was common for people living in areas dotted with mobile towers
to suffer from sleeplessness and irritability.
Sunil Mahapatra (name changed), a
resident of Burdman Compound, is one among a growing tribe of people facing
such disorders. "I was advised by my doctor to move to a location where
there were less mobile towers. I moved to Namkum in a rented flat," said
Mahapatra. But unfortunately, the Namkum area is also not free from the menace
of mobile tower radiation and Mahapatra has to pop sleeping pills for a
peaceful night.
Consultant physician and
cardiologist Manoj Kumar Vadani agreed, "Shift ing locations in such cases
make a huge difference. Areas with radio frequency levels within the acceptable
range cause less harm."
In a number of cases,
electromagnetic radiation from mobile towers has led to the impairment of the
growth of the foetus in pregnant women, said GopaChoudhary, assistant professor
of gynaecology department at RIMS. "Of late, several incidents of growth
retardation in foetus, abnormal birth, and even deaths have been reported owing
to mobile tower radiation," she added. Though Choudhary did not confirm
any such incident, she said, "It is a countrywide phenomenon. We will now
try to find out more about such effects in Ranchi."
It is no surprise then that the
largest hospital in Jharkhand is itself situated amidst a jungle of mobile towers.
Recently, the Rajasthan high court asked for mobile towers in educational
institutions, hospitals, playgrounds, jails and monuments to be relocated
elsewhere.
There has been powerful activism
against erection of illegal mobile towers across the length and breadth of the
city. Ashish Kumar Singh, an advocate who had filed a PIL in 2010 for the
removal of the illegal mobile towers in Ranchi, said medical reports have
already proved that exposure to electromagnetic waves from mobile towers cause
loss of retention power in kids and at times memory loss. "It also leads
to cancer," said Singh. A group of environmentalists had
also drawn the attention of the high court to the harmful effects of radiation.
Early this year, following the
directions of the Jharkhand high court, a high-level team comprising experts
from Birla Institute of Technology (Mesra) had been assigned the task of
studying the effects of radiation. But the work is still pending because of
technical difficulties. Nisha Gupta, the head of the department of electronics
and communication, who is heading the team, said, "The study has been
stalled because of technical difficulties."
Despite all this, Jharkhand's
Telecom Enforcement Resource & Monitoring (TERM) Cell, a watchdog under the
ministry of communication and IT department of telecommunications, claims that
radiation from mobile towers (base station antennae) are within the limits for
general public exposure.
J B Prasad, Jharkhand's deputy
director general, TERM cell, said, "Our vigilance experts have conducted
an analysis of emission levels on several mobile towers in Ranchi and other
districts on a random basis. It has come to our notice that around 100% BTS's
located in Ranchi and other districts are complying with the norms".
TERM officials had conducted the
sample survey in Ranchi, Hazaribagh, Bokaro, Jamshedpur, Dhanbad and other
districts where the BTS's towers were found 100% compliant, said Prasad.
In 2010, the department of
telecommunications (DoT) had issued detailed instructions to telecom service
providers across the country for meeting guidelines of International Commission
on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP).
" ICNIRP, widely connected to a large community working on
non-ionizing radiation protection around the world, is formally recognized by
the World Health
Organization (WHO) in the field of non-ionizing
radiation," said a senior TERM official. Prasad, however, said if someone
thinks that any mobile mast in his area is dangerous or emits radiation, he
should immediately complain to the department. We shall verify the same and
take necessary action." There are around 6000 BTSs of 2G, 3G, GSM and CDMA
in Jharkhand. DoT guidelines clearly say that sites found non-compliant by TERM
Cells will face a penalty of Rs 5 lakh per BTS. It also adds that the site,
found non-compliant, may also be shut down.
Prasad, however, said that there is
no government direction about the installation of mobile towers near
educational institutions, hospitals, playgrounds and other public places.
No comments:
Post a Comment