Potential Radiation from Cell Phone Towers Cause Panic in Dadar Parsi Colony

Date

April 23, 2013

Post by

arZan

Category

Bombay | Mumbai

6 cancer cases in 3 yrs, residents call meet to devise strategy.

1825361 Freny Kavarana, a resident of Shree Samarth building in Dadar’s Parsi Colony, says that she feels “horrible” when sitting in her room. Operated for a cancerous tumour in her stomach last year, Kavarana and three other people in her building blame cell phone tower radiation for the disease.

By Ashutosh Shukla | DNA

Despite minister of state for communications and information and technology, Milind Deora, stating that there is no proof that radiation from cell phone towers is hazardous to health, citizens continue to be apprehensive.

After six cases of cancer were reported in the past three years in the neighbourhood, the residents of the Parsi Colony are a panicked lot. They have put up banners and distributed handbills in the area, inviting people for a meeting on April 28, protesting against the cell phone towers on buildings in the vicinity.

Kavarana, who is still undergoing treatment post her surgery last year, says, “I can’t prove it, but people like me — who have suffered from cancer — have a strong suspicion that it is due to the cell phone towers that came up around here a few years ago.”

Aditya Gandhi, whose mother was detected with ovarian cancer in 2010, says, “Our window opens up to cell phone towers which are less than 35 metres away, on the third floor terrace of the adjoining building.”

Some residents have spent large amounts of money putting up radiation films to obstruct the radiation emitted from these towers. Avaa Jassawalla, who lives in Boman Lodge on Dr Ambedkar Road, spent over Rs1.5 lakh to put up such films two months ago. “I am unable to enjoy the view from my penthouse apartment, only because of the towers that are just 15 metres away,” she sa