The news comes in from Pune, Maharashtra where the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), Pune License Service Area (LSA) today organised an awareness webinar on “EMF Emissions and Telecom Towers”. For those unaware, DoT has been running public advocacy programme to make the general public aware of the need for mobile towers and dispel myths regarding the health effects of EMF exposure from mobile towers and the session organised today was a part of the initiative.
The Need for Awareness Among the Public
The awareness Webinar witnessed the participation of more than 100 people which include the likes of government officials, the general public, residents’ welfare associations, students, doctors, telecom service providers, infrastructure providers and other officials. The distinguished key speakers at the workshop were Shri R K Choudhary, Head (Advisor), Maharashtra LSA, Milind Raut, Director (Compliance), Pune, Maharashtra LSA and Dr Vivek Tandon, Additional Professor AIIMS Delhi. Shri R K Choudhary talking about the telecommunication services and highlighting the issues faced by the stakeholders stated that India has the second-largest mobile network base of active subscribers and the 5G connections in the country is expected to surpass 500 million by 2027. He added that by the end of 2027, globally, 5G will account for over a fifth of total mobile connections, and more than two in five people globally will live within reach of a 5G network. He focused on the need to address the spread of misinformation and provide an authentic view of health concerns related to mobile towers. Shri Milind Raut on the other hand, in his briefing to the Telecommunication Services, EMF Exposure and the status of Compliance stated that the Indian government has been following 10 times stricter norms than what has been prescribed by ICNIRP and recommended by WHO. He informed that DoT has kept an eye on EMF emission levels from towers across India for a while now. He informed that not only do telcos need to ensure the radiation from mobile towers (BTSs) is within prescribed safe limits but LSA also conducts physical audits of sites by selecting them randomly and testing the power of the available EMF signals. Dr Vivek Tandon who is an Additional Professor at AIIMS Delhi sharing his perspective stated that the EMF radiation from 2G,3G,4G and 5G telecom equipment’s are low, non-ionizing RF/Electromagnetic energy emitted from mobile tower antenna and mobile handset and research proves that it has no ill-effect on the human health. He added that telecom towers are critical installations for the realization of the vision of inclusive growth and therefore it is necessary that people are assured regarding any fears related to mobile towers.
