Friday, August 02, 2013

Tower trouble: Now, Parle dentist gets cancer

Tower trouble: Now, Parle dentist gets cancer

Tuesday, Jul 30, 2013, 11:23 IST | Agency: DNA



A 30-year-old dentist in the fourth stage of brain tumour has joined the list of residents afflicted by cancer allegedly due to radiation from mobile phone towers.

Andheri resident Rakesh was diagnosed with brain tumour in April, barely two months after getting married, and today he is in the fourth stage of the disease with a mere 14 months to live.

Distraught, his wife Apoorva said, “His only wish was to be able to continue working in his clinic (in Vile Parle), but I won’t allow him to go there till the mobile phone tower is removed.”

“My life is seeing the end even before it could begin,” she added.

The building in question is Hina Kunj on Church Road where Rakesh used to spend more than 12 hours a day. The mobile phone tower is located on the first floor of a telecom major’s power bill collection centre which is next to Hina Kunj. 

Opposite the centre lies a children’s home called Missionaries of Charity and St Xavier’s high school. Authorities at both places have appealed to have the tower removed.

Whether mobile phone towers cause cancer is an issue that is being debated the world over and hasn’t been proved yet. However, Hina Kunj already has three residents, besides Rakesh, who have been diagnosed with breast, uterine and colon cancers.

The area’s residents had objected to the construction of the tower in 2008 by jointly sending a letter to the telecom major, to which they did not receive any response. Over the years, and recently, they have been aggressively pushing for the tower’s removal with support from the nearby educational institutions and civic officials.

On July 29, a civic notice was put out, which directs officials at the bill collection centre to remove the unauthorised tower within 15 days. Officials at the telecom company said they will look into the matter.

http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/1867413/report-tower-trouble-now-parle-dentist-gets-cancer

No comments:

Post a Comment