The Telecom Department on Tuesday launched a portal that will allow people to track radiation emitted from mobile towers within a locality and check their compliance with the stipulated norms.
Launching the 'Tarang Sanchar' Web portal, Telecom Minister Manoj Sinha hoped the site will help in clearing "myths and misconceptions" about mobile towers and emissions from them.
He said the portal will empower consumers to know, at the click of the mouse, about the towers working in a particular area and whether they are compliant to the electromagnetic field (EMF) emission norms defined by the government.
The timing of the launch coincides with the recent SC order on deactivation of a mobile tower in Gwalior on the plea of a 42-year-old cancer patient.
The order had intensified the debate on the impact of radiation from mobile phone towers on health. However, the government has maintained that the mobile tower emissions rules in India are ten times more stringent than the global norms.
Last month, Telecom Minister Manoj Sinha sought to allay concerns over radiation emitted from mobile towers, saying studies so far have not revealed any health hazards. His comments came in the wake of a Supreme Court order directing the deactivation of a BSNL tower in Gwalior.
"This is not the final order and it needs to be seen in that perspective. Let the final order come... Secondly, (given) the research so far, including by World Health Organisation and even studies conducted in India by various institutions... I understand there is no ill effect of such (electromagnetic) radiation on the health of humans," Sinha said on the sidelines of a CII event.
Moreover, Sinha said, the norms in India with regard to the permissible limits of electromagnetic radiation from mobile towers is seven times more stringent than global limits.
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