4 from Vile Parle building with cancer, brain tumor blame it on cell tower
MUMBAI: Four residents of a building in Vile Parle
(W) have been diagnosed with cancer and brain tumor, which residents
blame on a cell phone tower installed nearby in 2008. Experts said it
was no coincidence that those residents of HinaKunj at
Church Road are battling with serious ailments and undergoing
chemotherapy sessions daily though operators insisted that there was no
conclusive evidence to link the two.
For Aditya and Ankita Shah (names changed), who had exchanged wedding vows in February, it was a mighty blow in early May, when he was diagnosed with stage IV brain tumor. A doctor by profession, Aditya practices in a clinic on the building's ground floor.
For Aditya and Ankita Shah (names changed), who had exchanged wedding vows in February, it was a mighty blow in early May, when he was diagnosed with stage IV brain tumor. A doctor by profession, Aditya practices in a clinic on the building's ground floor.
Padmaben Shah (83), a second floor resident, was also diagnosed with bilateral breast cancer
in May. On the first floor, Jayashreeben Dave (74) was detected with
cancer of the colon in June 2011. But the first case was of Hansa Shah
(58), another ground floor resident, who was detected with ovarian cancer in 2009, soon after the tower was installed.
The building's residents on Monday blamed the presence of the tower, facing Hina Kunj, but officials of the operator refused to comment.
"It all started with ear pain and in a matter of no time, an MRI test and biopsy indicated brain tumor. It was devastating. I found that there were three others in the building suffering from cancer. That's when I realized that it could be due to exposure to electromagnetic radiation from the nearby cell phone tower," said Ankita. Aditya underwent surgery in May and has six months of chemotherapy sessions remaining.
The tower is also a few yards away from St Xavier's High School and an orphanage run by the Missionaries of Charity. Repeated requests from the residents, school and orphanage since 2008 fell on deaf ears.
Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) draft guidelines specify that all residing below the terrace of the buildings having a cell tower must give consent.
The building owner's nod, a no-objection certificate from the cooperative society and consent of 70% occupants are also needed. Only two towers are permitted on a building or a wing.
The mobile service provider has to give an undertaking that there is no building as tall as the lowest antenna right in front of the tower. For two antennae, the other buildings must be 35m away, for four 45m away and so on.
The civic K (W) ward office issued a notice last Saturday to the operator under Section 152 of the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning Act, 1966, to remove the unauthorized tower within 15 days. The notice stated that BMC would remove it after 15 days and prosecute Reliance.
The civic body acted after corporator Ameet Satam wrote to it to take immediate action against the cell tower operator for exposing local residents to health hazards.
Dr Girish Kumar of IIT Bombay said, "It depends on proximity to a tower, as well as the number of towers. It also depends on power transmitted by each antenna, the number of antennae and radiation pattern. Maximum radiation is in the front direction of the building. That is when the entire zone is converted into an open microwave oven."
Industry sources said radiation norms approved by the government are almost 90% lower than internationally adopted norms and almost all operators follow them.
They said the Kerala high court had stated that scientists and researchers were yet to arrive at a conclusion if radiation had an impact on the human body, and till then no one could oppose the towers set up as per the govern-ment's norms.
(Inputs from Chittaranjan Tembhekar)
The building's residents on Monday blamed the presence of the tower, facing Hina Kunj, but officials of the operator refused to comment.
"It all started with ear pain and in a matter of no time, an MRI test and biopsy indicated brain tumor. It was devastating. I found that there were three others in the building suffering from cancer. That's when I realized that it could be due to exposure to electromagnetic radiation from the nearby cell phone tower," said Ankita. Aditya underwent surgery in May and has six months of chemotherapy sessions remaining.
The tower is also a few yards away from St Xavier's High School and an orphanage run by the Missionaries of Charity. Repeated requests from the residents, school and orphanage since 2008 fell on deaf ears.
Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) draft guidelines specify that all residing below the terrace of the buildings having a cell tower must give consent.
The building owner's nod, a no-objection certificate from the cooperative society and consent of 70% occupants are also needed. Only two towers are permitted on a building or a wing.
The mobile service provider has to give an undertaking that there is no building as tall as the lowest antenna right in front of the tower. For two antennae, the other buildings must be 35m away, for four 45m away and so on.
The civic K (W) ward office issued a notice last Saturday to the operator under Section 152 of the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning Act, 1966, to remove the unauthorized tower within 15 days. The notice stated that BMC would remove it after 15 days and prosecute Reliance.
The civic body acted after corporator Ameet Satam wrote to it to take immediate action against the cell tower operator for exposing local residents to health hazards.
Dr Girish Kumar of IIT Bombay said, "It depends on proximity to a tower, as well as the number of towers. It also depends on power transmitted by each antenna, the number of antennae and radiation pattern. Maximum radiation is in the front direction of the building. That is when the entire zone is converted into an open microwave oven."
Industry sources said radiation norms approved by the government are almost 90% lower than internationally adopted norms and almost all operators follow them.
They said the Kerala high court had stated that scientists and researchers were yet to arrive at a conclusion if radiation had an impact on the human body, and till then no one could oppose the towers set up as per the govern-ment's norms.
(Inputs from Chittaranjan Tembhekar)
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