Department of Telecommunications (DoT), Delhi License Service Area (LSA) organized an awareness webinar on “EMF Emissions and Telecom Towers” here yesterday. This session was organized 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 EMF exposure from mobile towers.

The Webinar was addressed by Sh. Nizamul Haq, Advisor, DoT, New Delhi and Sh. Arun Kumar, DDG, DoT, Delhi LSA. Presentation on various aspects of EMF and steps taken by DoT was covered by Sh. Vijay Prakash, Director and Sh. Kamal Deo Tripathi, ADG, DoT, Delhi LSA. Various health related queries and myth about harmful effect of EMF radiations from mobile towers was also clarified by a medical expert, Dr Vivek Tandon, Associate Professor (Neurosurgery), All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi.

Shri Nizamul Haq, 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 modernization 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.

Shri Arun Kumar, DDG and Shri 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 Ionizing 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, Associate Professor AIIMS Delhi 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. Dr Tandon explained various aspects of health related issues in a simplified way and touched various studies and its impact in real life situation.

Department of Telecommunication (DoT), through its field units has already taken necessary steps and adopted stricter norms for safety from EMF radiation that are emitted from mobile towers. DoT has adopted the radiation norms which are 10 times stricter than the norms prescribed by ICNIRP as recommended by WHO. All the information on Mobile tower radiation is available to the public on DoT’s website: https://dot.gov.in/journey-emf

Till date, 46000 mobile base transceiver stations (BTS) have been tested in Delhi LSA and all sites have been found EMF compliant as per DoT norms.

For tower EMF emission visit http://tarangsanchar.gov.in/EMFportal.

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RKJ/M