Amid growing concerns about health hazards due to radiation from mobile telecom towers, Indian communications ministry is looking at ways to develop alternative technology whereby dependence mobile towers can be brought down and eventually phased out.A draft proposal has been prepared for discussions among the ministries concerned, according to local media reports.According to The New Indian Express, sources in the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) said the issue is of concern to the larger public, and that it is examining the feasibility of dispensing cell phone towers by replacing them with underground cables or other alternative technologies adopted by foreign countries,Gadgets Now reports Indian Telecom Minister, Manoj Sinha, had sought to allay concerns over radiation emitted from mobile towers, saying studies so far have not revealed any health hazards, emphasising that prescribed limits for radiation emissions in India are more stringent than global norms.Manoj Sinha comments came in the wake of a report that Supreme Court ordered shutting down of a BSNL mobile tower in Gwalior on the plea of a 42-year-old cancer patient.After the apex court directed BSNL to remove its mobile tower in Gwalior, demands to remove the structures in residential areas because of their negative impact has also started to gain momentum in Indore, Times of India reported.Indore radiation safety officer, Shivakant Vajpayee said radiation levels recorded in different parts of his city is as high as 10 times as compared to guidelines set for it.“As per government rules, the radiation level should not be more than 4.5 watt/square metre but in many places it is around 45 watt/square metre,” Vajpayee told Times of India.While the Supreme Court order is expected to intensify ongoing deliberations on the impact of radiation from mobile phone towers on health, Shivakant Vajpayee said a viable solution is for the government to make a strategy of ”˜low power, more towers’.“Telecom companies should be asked to install towers with lower power frequencies,” Vajpayee said.Meanwhile, operators in the country are unhappy with alternatives to towers.According to them, if the Telecom Commission, the policy-making arm of the communications ministry, decides in favour of a phased replacement of mobile towers, it could increase operators’ cost of operations, stressing that the additional burden, in turn, may be passed on to customers.Tilak Raj Dua, Director-General of Tower and Infrastructure Providers Association notified that the tower industry, however, feels such measures will only deteriorate the quality of voice and data. News Guru
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