Only 6 engineers to monitor 27K mobile towers

The Centre may have set up cells to monitor the levels of radiation emitted by mobile phone towers, but staff shortage at Mumbai’s only Telecom Enforcement, Resource and Monitoring (TERM) cell means that it will take a long while for your complaints to be addressed.

The Centre may have set up cells to monitor the levels of radiation emitted by mobile phone towers, but staff shortage at Mumbai’s only Telecom Enforcement, Resource and Monitoring (TERM) cell means that it will take a long while for your complaints to be addressed.

HT Image

In HT’s July 28 edition, Union minister of state for communications and IT, Milind Deora, had asked Mumbaiites to approach the Andheri-based cell for radiation-related complaints.

The TERM cells are supposed to conduct sample surveys of 10% of the mobile phone towers in their jurisdiction. However, of the 27,642 towers in Mumbai Metropolitan Region, the Mumbai cell has tested only 660 towers since November 2010, as it has only six engineers.

“The staff is not adequate to do the required number of sample checks,” Monisha Biswas, head of Mumbai TERM cell, said on Tuesday.