The plan to instal a mobile tower in Sector 15A, Noida, has fuelled a major debate among residents.
The RWA of the sector was relieved when it finally got Noida Authority's nod to instal a mobile tower in their Club 15A premises after several requests.
But a section of residents says the tower is likely to become a health hazard* for people in the sector. "A mobile tower inside the sector will certainly have adverse health effects," says Tanu Mishra, a resident.
"Telecom companies try to cover a large area with just a few mobile towers to save installation costs," Mishra explains. "These are used beyond capacity to cater to a larger area. This results in the towers emitting dangerous levels of electromagnetic field [EMF] radiation. Although TRAI [Telecom Regulatory Authority of India] keeps a check on the radiation, there aren't enough officers appointed for the job. So proper monitoring is not always possible."
Ashok Chaturvedi, secretary of the RWA, says, "The tower will help resolve the issue of call drops in the sector. Most of the residents are in favour of installing a mobile tower in the clubhouse premises."
The RWA has assured residents that the mobile tower will not pose a threat to their health and that radiation levels will be checked regularly.
*According to World Health Organization, "Because exposure to the radiofrequency (RF) fields emitted by mobile phones is generally more than a 1000 times higher than from base stations, and the greater likelihood of any adverse effect being due to handsets, research has almost exclusively been conducted on possible effects of mobile phone exposure."
