Outcry over move to shift cell towers
The decision of the Union ministry of forest and environment to relocate mobile phone towers has irked the anti-Naxal agencies of the state and Centre. The state wildlife department is formulating its action plan against cell phone towers in and around ecological sensitive areas like sanctuaries, tiger reserves, national parks in cities and reserve forests to prevent electromagnetic radiation affecting wildlife.
The recent report of the expert committee warned of serious implications on wildlife. However, the police depend heavily on mobile phone communications for informant network and other communications. Even villages and towns located in these areas will be badly affected due to lack of communication network. Deputy inspector-general (wildlife) Vivek Saxena, in his advisory to the state government, said that the expert committee has indicated that EMR will interfere with the biological system and have negative impact on wildlife.
Parks like KBR National Park, Vanasthalipuram Park, Chilkur and Nehru Zoological Park are to be protected and cell phone towers situated in these areas to be relocated. A senior police official said, “Maoists have been wiped out from Nallamala forest as they were tracked down by their mobile pho-ne communications. Apart from that, a lot of informants use mobile phones.”
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