Locals measure radiation in SoBo, to compile report

Armed with a German radiation-measuring instrument and a telecom expert, Malabar Hill residents visited several spots in south Mumbai on Thursday to measure the electromagnetic frequency (EMF) radiation emitted by mobile towers.

Armed with a German radiation-measuring instrument and a telecom expert, Malabar Hill residents visited several spots in south Mumbai on Thursday to measure the electromagnetic frequency (EMF) radiation emitted by mobile towers.

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While the measurements are still being compiled, building residents and school students complained about the plausible correlation between their headaches and the proximity of these towers.

"Will the operators give it to us in writing that over the next ten years, none of us will suffer from any disorders on account of direct exposure to radiation emissions from the mobile towers?" asked Mubina Farooq Issa, a resident of Sea Land apartments, Cuffe Parade, whose drawing room is barely 20 metres away from a mobile tower erected in the adjoining Sea Wind building compound.

"I feel unsafe in my own drawing room," she said.

Hindustan Times has been carrying a series of reports over the past few weeks on the civic body's revised policy on mobile towers and the alarming number of illegal tower installations in the city.

"My child often complains about headaches and gets tired very easily. Since he spends a considerable amount of time in school, we fear that exposure to the mobile towers will affect him," said Umesh Mehta, parent of a Class 6 student of Hindi Vidya Bhavan School, Marine Lines, which is exposed to mobile towers installed in a building next door.

After compiling the measurements, the residents plan to approach the concerned authorities and demand action on these towers.

"By using up-to-date technology, we have recorded accurate measurements. We will now decide on the future course of action to ensure quick response from authorities," said Prakash Munshi, a Malabar Hill resident.