Ambani’s tower in radiation tussle

Residents of a Cuffe Parade building have raised concerns about a mobile tower that has been installed inside the compound of the adjacent Sea Wind building, where Anil Ambani, the chairman of Reliance Communications Limited lives.

Residents of a Cuffe Parade building have raised concerns about a mobile tower that has been installed inside the compound of the adjacent Sea Wind building, where Anil Ambani, the chairman of Reliance Communications Limited lives.

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While the residents have demanded the immediate removal of the tower from its current spot, officials from Reliance Communications Limited claimed they had sought all the requisite permissions before installing the tower and were not violating the government’s prescribed norms for electromagnetic frequency (emf) radiation (450 milliwatts/square meter). The official added that that they could make minor alterations to the height of the tower without dismantling it, if necessary.

Located about 20 metres away from Sea Land, the complainants’ building, the mobile tower’s antennae are positioned such that they face the top floor residence of Mubina Issa, who said the radiations from the tower are posing several health risks for them.

“I am not safe in my own house. With the antennae of the mobile tower facing the drawing room and library, I cannot let my children go into these rooms at all,” said Issa, who claimed that in the past, the Ambanis had promptly responded to all the concerns they had pointed out. “On account of continuous exposure, even other residents from building in the vicinity have complained about frequent headaches, lack of sleep, short-term memory loss, nervousness and skin rashes.”

Responding to their claim, a company official said: “We have sought the requisite permissions for the installation of the mobile tower from the concerned authorities. We have also taken detailed measurements of the radiations in Sea Land society, and found that they were well within the norms prescribed by the government.”