‘Towers essential for strengthening network for facilitating rapid social-economic development’
Guwahati: Contrary to the popular perception that radiations emanating from mobile phone towers that have been mushrooming in the skyline, are injurious to human health, the Department of Telecommunication (DoT) on Tuesday stated that Electro Magnetic Field (EMF) emissions from such telecom towers are not at all injurious to human health.
It has been clarified that these towers are essential for strengthening and expansion of mobile phone network for facilitating rapid social-economic development, disaster management and providing safety to vulnerable sections of the society.
Delivering the key-note address in a DoT sponsored awareness programme on EMF emissions and telecom towers, the secretary of the DoT, J Deepak on Tuesday said the fear aired about telecom towers being unsafe for human health was not based on any scientific evidence and in fact, the WHO has ruled out any health consequences because of exposure to such a low level of EMF due to telecom towers.
“The WHO on the basis of in-depth review of about 25,000 scientific articles stated that scientific knowledge in this area is now more extensive than most chemicals. Current evidence doesn’t confirm existence of any health consequences from exposure to low level electromagnetic field,” the DoT official pointed out.
He also draw attention of the select gathering which comprised of senior DoT officials, chief secretaries of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh, technical experts, officials from mobile phone service providers, opinion makers etc., that no court in the county so far had made any observation or delivered a verdict saying emission from mobile phone towers is harmful to human health while dealing with large number of litigations related to such towers.
“India which uses the same mobile phone technology as the countries like the US and Japan, has one of the most stringent EMF emission norms for mobile phone towers. Special DoT field teams strictly monitor the EMF emission level from these towers and any violation of norms is punished with fine of Rs 10 lakh and closure,” the DoT official said.
“For a country like India, the mobile smart phone has been a game changer as it has opened up various opportunities for people all over the country who are hokked to the mobile phone network. Mobile phones are key factor in economic growth because of data connectivity through broadband. Mobile connectivity can more than compensate for lack of road connectivity. It enables the population to have access to government services, e-commerce and digital transaction and grants safety to vulnerable sections like womenfolk. It has reduced asymmetry in propagation of information so has removed asymmetry of opportunities,” the official said.
Assam’s chief secretary V K Pipersenia and his Arunachal Pradesh counterpart Shakumtala Gamlin vouched for expansion of mobile phone connectivity in their respective states especially for the benefit of those residing in remote inaccessible areas where road communication is still a far cry.
“ Question of not having mobile towers doesn’t arise. We in Assam need more mobile towers to achieve the state’s goal of providing broad band connectivity to every household in the state,” Pipersenia said. (PTI)