Department of Telecommunications (DoT), Delhi License Service Area (LSA) recently organised an awareness webinar on “EMF Emissions and Telecom Towers”. This session was organised as a part of DoT’s public advocacy programme to make the consumers aware about the growing need for mobile towers to build reliable telecom infrastructure and to break myths regarding the health effects of electromagnetic field (EMF) exposure from mobile towers.
The webinar was addressed by Nizamul Haq, Advisor, DoT, New Delhi and Arun Kumar, DDG, DoT, Delhi LSA. Presentation on various aspects of EMF and steps taken by DoT was covered by Vijay Prakash, director and Kamal Tripathi, ADG, DoT, Delhi LSA. Various health related queries and myth about harmful effect of EMF radiations from mobile towers were also clarified by a medical expert, Dr Vivek Tandon, Associate Professor (Neurosurgery), All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi.
Nizamul Haque, Advisor, DoT, Delhi LSA put a spotlight on the importance of telecommunications as an effective tool for socio-economic development of a nation. It has become core infrastructure for rapid growth and modernisation of various sectors of the economy. To provide best quality of telecommunication service to the customers, the expansion of mobile network including tower infrastructure are inevitable.
Arun Kumar, DDG and Vijay Prakash, director, Delhi LSA further addressed that the EMF emissions from a mobile tower, which are below the safe limits prescribed by International Commission on Non Ionising Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) and recommended by World Health Organisation (WHO), have no convincing scientific evidence of causing adverse health effects. Various judgements of High Courts of India on the issues of radiation from mobile tower says that there is no conclusive data to show that radiation from mobile tower is in any way harmful or hazardous to the health of citizens.
Dr. Vivek Tandon clarified various myth about health related issues due to EMF radiations from mobile towers and handsets. Misconceptions among a section of the population around the health hazards of EMF radiations should not override the factual information made available to us through scientific research.
