Residents of Mohammadwadi are upset about the ongoing construction of a cellphone tower in the thickly populated area. The Nyati County Mohalla Committee (NCMC) has questioned how the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) could allow installation of the tower in the area.
The Delhi Public School (DPS) is located near the site, on which the tower is coming up. The committee had requested the PMC and the Kondhwa police to inspect the site. But there has been no response from any of these parties.
“We are not sure which telecom company is setting up the tower. Initially, the construction was taking place in the night. Of late, the work is being carried out during daytime also,” said the aggrieved residents.
The company has built a cabin that houses a generator.
Residents alleged that the civic body is oblivious to the effect of radiation from cellphone towers. The NCMC said cellphone towers should not be installed in high density residential areas, or near schools, playgrounds and hospitals.
The committee has attributed the disappearance of butterflies, bees, insects and sparrows from big cities to the radiation from cellphone towers.
A committee member, Captain (retd) Deepak Sethi, said the telecom company should have kept in mind the health hazards while erecting the tower in a residential area, that too near a school. “There is a report of the inter-ministerial committee set up by the Union ministry of communications, which states that towers should not come up in residential areas due to health hazards,” he said.
According to the study by the inter-ministerial committee, the radiation from cellphone towers poses serious health risks, including loss of memory, lack of concentration, disturbance in the digestive system and sleep disturbances.
Sethi filed an application under the Right To Information (RTI) Act, 2005, with the PMC on January 28, 2011, seeking information whether the building construction department of the PMC has issued a licence for the installation of the tower and if the licence has not been given, what steps the PMC is taking to prevent its erection.
“We are yet to get a reply from the PMC,” he said.
The chairman of Nyati Ambience Society, Hari Govind, said a complaint was filed with the PMC on November 9 last year when work on the tower started. “We filed a police compliant on January 27 at Kondhwa police station as well. But there is no response from the PMC or the police,” he said.
Even the DPS, which has over 2,500 students, has complained to the PMC and the local ward office authorities on the issue. R Alphons, one of the residents, said he has bought a house in the locality to enjoy the environment and the serenity. “But the cellphone tower coming up next to my house is not only making living tough, but also negatively affecting the price of properties.”
PMC officials could not be contacted for their comments, while the Kondhwa police said they intervene only if there is any law and order problem.
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