Cell towers pose health threat to city residents

Kurnool: Increasing competition among the mobile service providers to set up more and more mobile towers to in the city is turning out to be a health hazard for the citizens.

Indiscreet permission and licenses accorded to the companies compounds the problem leading to the proliferation of cell towers.

In the entire district, there are more than 3,500 towers belonging to various international and national companies pose a serious threat to people livelihood.

Radiation that emits from the mobile network towers acts as a source for generating more heat, thereby turning the homes into mirco ovens, said Naveen.

Though a complaint has been pending with the police and the concerned officials on the urgent need to remove cell towers, still there is a muted response from the concerned authorities.

To add woes, 1000 more towers are in the pipeline, he lamented.

Adding to this, the government-run mobile network provider (MNP) BSNL has 400 cell towers alone across the district.

The available statistics suggest that Reliance tops the list with 600 cell towers, Vodafone 550, and Airtel 550.

Apart from this, deaths triggered by short circuits and mechanical faults in the cell towers are sending nightmares to the residents.

Nowadays, the erection of towers on the roof top of houses in residential colonies is being strongly opposed by the householders.

One of the reasons for this vehement opposition from the locals is due to deaths that shook Kosigi, Banaganapalle and other locations in the district.

Electrocution was said to have contributed to many deaths.

Around 200 sheep were said to have perished in similar manner in Owk mandal.

The mobile network companies are facing stiff opposition from the major urban areas of the district like Kurnool, Nandyal Adoni, Yemmignoor and Dhone towns.

In Kurnool city alone, there exist over 100 cell towers on the roof tops of the houses.

Meanwhile, experts say, children, pregnant women and fetuses are the most vulnerable to the emission of radio magnetic wave radiations and they are susceptible to health ailment issues.

It is for this reason cell towers and cell masts have been prohibited at residential areas in developed countries such as North America, Europe and East Asia, said an engineer from the telecom department.

As per the rules stipulated by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), companies are not allowed to erect cell towers in and around schools, hospitals and residential areas.

In contrary to this, a large number of companies are hugely violative of the established statutes.

Ananta Rajendra Prasad, a functionary belongs to a non-governmental organisation (NGO) said that his organisation is planning to bring awareness among the people about the perils involved with the presence of cell towers.

He also said that many representations have been submitted by the locals to the collector pressing the case for removal of the installed mobile towers on the top of residential houses and apartments in the localities.

The companies have no right to set up towers surrounding residential areas as per GO number 183 and 334, said Rajendra Prasad.