Hyderabad: Residents of Panjesha, near Charminar in the Old City, have raised strong objections against signal towers in their area. They are voicing concerns about the health risks that such towers can cause. In a letter addressed to the Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy, they highlighted concerns about unauthorised towers and the potential radiation exposure that could prove fatal.
Numerous appeals to the concerned authorities have been vain efforts. One Salam Bin Amer Shaibi from the area said that the building in question has been illegally constructed up to four floors and the tower was installed two years back without proper authorisation.
Many of the locals stated that the unauthorised installation of a telecom tower by Airtel was at the behest of a local resident, Syed Hussain Mohsin, who was compensated monetarily.
The letter continued, “As you know, this tower emits harmful signals and waves that pose serious health risks to pregnant women, children, and the elderly in the community. A few residents have even been hospitalised due to the tower’s emissions. We filed a complaint against Airtel and notified the GHMC Commissioner back in March, but unfortunately, no action has been taken regarding our concerns.”
Mohammed Ahmed, an activist, has claimed that over the past three months, two individuals have lost their lives due to radiation exposure. On Saturday, Saleh Bin Sayeed, a man in his sixties, succumbed to the effects of high-frequency radiation, a fact mentioned by the hospital doctors in the patient’s medical records.
The resident of Irani Galli emphasised that their main objection to the tower was because of the health complications that would create.
Another resident, Syed Rahmat, had sent an objection to the municipality regarding the issue. “I reside approximately 50 metres away from the property. Firstly, there has been no prior communication from the property owner regarding the plan to install a tower, nor was any No Objection Certificate obtained from the nearby residents”, he said.
As per building norms, no cell phone tower is allowed in parks, playgrounds, and full tank levels (FTL) of water bodies. Apart from this, cell towers cannot be installed within 100 metres of schools, hospitals, heritage and religious buildings and the boundary of rivers outside the corporation, municipality and nagar panchayats.
HYDRA must launch a campaign to combat the unlawful construction of towers throughout the city and make the companies accountable on charges of violation of building norms, Ahmed said.
