The launch of a web portal by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) which would provide information on all the 14.5 lakh base stations located in the country is a huge step forward. For the first time citizens will be able to ascertain the quantum of electro-magnetic radiation from each mobile tower. But will this help in clearing the myths and misconception about mobile towers? Minister of State Manoj Sinha, who inaugurated the portal, is hopeful that this exercise would change people’s suspicions about mobile towers. But there are some unanswered questions.
Firstly, will the portal be refreshed every day? The tendency with government-run websites is that the launch is held with much fanfare, but the follow-up work of keeping a portal up-to-date is generally neglected. Six months down the line the portal could have useless information and lose its importance if this aspect is ignored.
The larger issue though is fear. Much of the misconception about radiation from mobile towers is based on fear and not science. Some public spirited citizens have been leading agitations on the street and online to draw the attention of the government and other citizens towards the perceived dangers of mobile towers. The evidence forwarded is often questionable. Activists point to the exceptions and attempt to make them the rule. There is no hard and convincing evidence to establish a link between radiation from mobile towers and cancer and even the World Health Organisation refused to accept that a link exists. The American Cancer Society notes that the radiation from mobile towers is not strong enough to break the chemical bonds in DNA molecules, which is how stronger forms of radiation may lead to cancer. It added that there is very little evidence to suggest that mobile tower radiation is a cancer risk. Nonetheless, the fear of mobile towers persists. How does the government propose to tackle this fear? The new website is certainly a step forward, but unless additional measures are taken to tackle misconceptions based on fear, the overall situation is not likely to change.
In order to dispel fear, the government has offered citizens an emission check. Any citizen can request a radiation check on a mobile tower to ascertain if it is within prescribed limits. However, the catch is that it will cost Rs 4,000. Is the test really so expensive? If not then is the department misusing it as a revenue stream? The flip side of the argument is that DoT has kept the fee high in order to prevent frivolous requests. This service will be more effective if DoT also includes random checks in the mix. If the idea is to give citizens real time information on mobile towers close to them, then the onus of checking mobile towers rests on DoT, not citizens.
