MUMBAI | MONDAY, OCTOBER 11, 2010

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Ashutosh Shukla

Is radiation from cellphonetowers proving to be harmfulfor residents living aroundthem? Whether the assump-tion that such radiation affectsthe health of human beings ishypothetical or has a concretebase is still a point of debate.To ensure that there is someclarity on the issue, NapeanSea Road Citizens’ Forum(NSRCF) and Altamount RoadArea Citizens’ Committee(ARACC) jointly conducted aseminar.

A mobile operator, an IIT-Bombay professor, the deputydirector of the department oftelecommunication (DoT), andan advocate who has foughtcases for cellphone companieswere present in it.

Prakash Patel, a resident ofNapean Sea Road, said: “Not solong ago, a woman died of can-cer and two other people werediagnosed with it. While it can-not be confirmed, there isstrong suspicion that eversince a cellphone tower waserected very close to her flat, ra-diation could have been thereason of the woman’s death.”

Patel’s opening remarks inthe seminar more or less con-firm the bewilderment of mostof the residents living in thesurroundings where cellphonetowers have come up.

“There have been several

studies but not one shows radi-ation to be the cause of cancer.Whatever radiation towersemit is less than that of mi-crowaves and radios,” said aperson from a mobile company,urging residents not to panic.

However, Girish Kumar, anIIT-Bombay professor, said thatby the time problems areknown, it’s too late. “We havehad delays in knowing theharms of X-rays. It should notbe the case that we suddenly

have problems like cancer ona large scale after 30 years anddo not know what to do aboutit,” said Kumar.

Kumar also said that eventhe mobile phones have someamount of radiation. “Radia-

tion is there. In fact, all thingsthat are wireless do have someamount of radiation. Oneshould try to avoid them asmuch as possible. Cellphonetowers and phones that absorbmore power for connectivity,harm you more,” he added.

Advocate Chandra Singh,however, said that though thereis suspicion, literature presentand studies do not blame anysource. “There is a permissiblelevel set, which is way belowthe mark that can cause anytrouble to people. Cellphonetowers are presently function-ing at the 0.002-0.2% of that per-missible level,” said Singh.

AN Pandey from DoT said,“The debate is on how to enjoymobile facilities without affect-ing our health. There was astudy by an eminent panel thatstated it was not so harmful. ByNovember 15, we are also plan-ning to do a nationwide checkon all cell towers. We will askthe providers to give us detailsof their radiation limit compli-ance, and accordingly, decidetheir necessity.”

Gautam Watsa, a resident,said, “Everything about celltowers is bad. The question iswhether you should have thesetowers or not. They talk of cell-phones having problems but itis debatable. There should be aprescribed way of measuringsoon as, otherwise, there couldbe complications in future.”

Somendra Sharma

The Pydhonie police havearrested three people for al-legedly cheating a business-man of nearly Rs83 lakh byposing as police officers.

According to the police,the three approached RamAshish Singh, a business-man from Kalbadevi, andintroduced themselves aspolicemen. “They told thevictim that they knew ofhis involvement in illegalactivities. They then took abag containing Rs83 lakh incash from his office andasked him to visit the po-lice station the next day,”said an officer from the Py-dhonie police station.

When he visited the po-lice station, he realised thathe had been conned. He im-mediately lodged a com-plaint with the police. Theofficer said that they told thepolice during interrogationthey hatched a plan to robthe businessman afterlearning that he kept plen-ty of cash in his office, theofficer said.

The arrested trio has beenidentified as Edward Se-queira, 32, Moses Peter Gon-salves, 33, and Anand BaluKolambe, 32. While Sequeiraand Gonsalves are residentsof Vasai, Kolambe is a resi-dent of Bhayander. Theyhave been remanded in cus-tody till October 22.

Three ‘cops’held forconningbizman

Citizens divided over effects ofradiation from cellphone towersSeminar organised by residents of Napean Sea Road and Altamount Road fails to reach conclusion

In a case of redevelopmentof a housing society proposedby majority shareholders, theBombay high court has ruledthat the builder cannot pro-ceed unless he complies withthe terms of the developmentagreement.

Most litigation on redevel-opment of housing coloniesgo in favour of the majorityshareholders who opt for thenew scheme. But in this case,the court ruled against thembecause the builder had notfollowed the agreement terms.

On Friday, justice SC Dhar-madhikari dismissed a pleaof M/s Tanishq Builders,which sought eviction of 10minority shareholders ofPraja Cooperative HousingSociety in suburbanGhatkopar to enable the re-development work to begin.

The builder’s lawyer SUKamdar contended that 70%of the members had consent-ed to redevelopment and thata minority group could notstall the project. It was ar-gued that necessary permis-sions and sanctions had beenobtained and huge invest-ment had been already madein the redevelopment.

However, counsel for theminority shareholders,Aniket Nikam, argued thatthe redevelopment agree-ment provided that thebuilder would acquire a por-tion of land adjoining the so-ciety and then develop the en-tire plot. As this was notdone, the redevelopment wasin breach of the agreement.

He further argued that theland was given to the societyin 1970 by the government forthose belonging to low incomegroup. With redevelopment,new members would step inand the composition of thehousing project would changeand defeat the purpose for

which the land was given.Nikam said the mainte-

nance costs would go up andthe existing members of thelow income group would notbe able to bear the expenses.

The builder’s lawyer ar-gued that there have beencase laws which state that mi-nority cannot stall redevel-opment projects. He alsopointed out that the buildingwas in a bad condition andproduced a letter of an expertto this effect.

Nikam countered this ar-gument by saying that the let-ter was obtained after a rede-velopment agreement wassigned with the builder and assuch it could be manipulated.

The high court, however,held that unless the terms ofthe agreement were compliedwith, the redevelopmentcould not commence. —PTI

Redevelopment row:HC rules in favour of minority group

DNA Correspondent

Two high-profile gangstersmanaged escape after throw-ing chilly powder into theeyes of policemen escortingthem from the Taloja Jail inNavi Mumbai to the Nashikcentral prison. According tosources, Sachin Khambe andMangesh Narkar were beingtaken to the Nashik centralprison from the Nashik Roadrailway station in an auto-rickshaw when the incidenttook place.

The police team managedto nab Khambe three hourslater. However, Narkar is stillwanted. The Nashik policehave launched a manhunt forhim. They are also investi-gating how the duo managedto get chilly powder.

According to sources, afteralmost 40 undertrials went ona hunger strike last week toprotest the fact that they werenot being taken to court forhearing, the jail administra-tion decided to shift some un-der-trials, including Khambeand Narkar.

However, instead of takingthe duo in a jail van withproper security, the jail ad-ministration decided to takethem by train. Four policemenescorted them to the Thanestation from where theyboarded a train to Nashik.

After reaching the NashikRoad railway station, they

hired an auto-rickshaw forthe Nashik central prison.“On the way, Narkar threwchilly powder in the eyes ofthe escorting policemen andboth fled from the spot,” a po-lice officer from Nashik said.

A case (number 654/10) hasbeen registered against theduo at the Nashik Road policestation, under whose jurisdic-tion the incident took place.

The incident has caused alot of embarrassment to thejail administration and ques-tions are being raised aboutthe careless manner inwhich the undertrials werebeing shifted. “Instead oftaking them in a jail vanwith adequate security, whywere they taken by train andauto?” asked a senior policeofficer.

Cops lose undertrialsin chilly powder haze

Yogita Rao

The future of hundreds of stu-dents from Marathi mediumschools is now in a predica-ment, as the state governmenthas denied approval to about4,000 new Marathi schools.

The schools that have beendenied permission includethose that sought approval forextension to upper primaryclasses. As of now, at least 100schools are already runningclasses without any recogni-tion from the state govern-ment.

Parents and activists fromacross the state met on Sun-day to find a solution to theproblem.

Milind Wagh, secretary ofthe Forum against Commer-cialisation of Education, said:“The lives of several students

are in jeopardy as the stategovernment has denied theapproval. Some schools,which had sought approval forextension from primary to up-per primary classes, were al-ready holding classes for up-per primary children. Thereare at least 100 such schoolsthat are running the upperprimary classes without any

recognition. When the stu-dents from these schools moveto higher classes or even whenthey reach SSC, they will faceproblems. We are planning totake up the matter with thegovernment.”

The state government hasdecided not to allow newMarathi medium schools inthe city, until they come up

with a policy to regulatethem.

“The main reason for deny-ing permissions is that thestate government does notwish to provide aid to schools.If a similar case had hap-pened in Tamil Nadu, peoplewould have protested and en-sured such a decision wasnever taken.,” said Wagh.

Recently, an Aurangabadbench of the high court evenordered the state not to havea blanket ban on all Marathischools and had directed thegovernment to consider itcase by case.

The meeting of parentsand activists was attended byrepresentatives of variousschool forums across thestate. State president of theforum, Vivek Korde, also at-tended the meet.

Govt puts Marathi students in soup

Mihika Basu

Students’ ideas and businessplans are all set to get a fillip atthe Narsee Monjee Institute ofManagement Studies(NMIMS) as it is planning tolaunch an incubation cell nextyear. “We are moving towardssetting up an incubation cell,which will be primarily drivenby students’ ideas. We hope tostart it in 2011. Faculty mem-bers will do the hand-holdingand provide guidance andmentorship,” said NMIMSvice-chancellor, Rajan Saxena.

The institute currently hasan entrepreneurship cell,which conducts workshops,lectures and business plancompetitions. While one busi-ness plan competition is forstudents from businessschools, the second is mainlytargeted at starts-ups and smalland medium-scale enterprises.

“The incubation cell willcater to both current studentsas well as alumni of NMIMS.It will be modelled on the linesof incubation centres at Indi-an Institute of Management,Ahmedabad, and Indian Insti-tute of Technology, Bombay,”said Vishal Verma, president,entrepreneurship cell,NMIMS.

He said while many may beinterested in starting theirown ventures, they may not al-ways have access to the properroute or the right people.“Funding is another major is-sue. All these aspects will betaken care of by the cell, whichwill act as a facilitator for con-version of plans into entre-preneurial ventures by pro-viding necessary support sys-tems,” said Verma.

A trial run for the incuba-

tion cell was conducted in the2009-10 academic year duringwhich the entrepreneurshipcell had tied up with the min-istry of small and medium en-terprises and viable initiativeswere identified and referred tothe ministry.

After the incubation cell isestablished, interested stu-dents and alumni will be askedto submit their business plansand experts will identify thosewhich have a potential for com-mercial ventures.

“Funding will be facilitatedwith the help of venture capi-talists and the ministry ofsmall and medium enterprisesamong others,” added Verma.

NMIMS plans splcell for buddingentrepreneurs

COURT REJECTS EXTREME DEMAND BY SOME RESIDENTS TO HAVE THE ANNUAL FESTIVITY BANNED

Manoj Nair

While the Bombay high courthas asked the police and thecivic body to consult Bandraresidents and create a planto hold next year’s Bandrafair smoothly, it rejected anextreme demand from theresidents: banning the fair.

The court said that sincethe matter involved religioussentiments and also the rightof citizens to a life free of in-convenience, it had to “bal-ance rival interests”.

Another prayer that no ac-tivities should be held aroundthe fair, too, was rejected byjustices RV More and Ran-jana Desai because the peti-tioners were not clear whatthey wanted banned.

The petition was disposed

of after the BrihanmumbaiMunicipal Corporation(BMC), the police and the firedepartment were given di-rections to ensure that resi-dents are not inconveniencedduring next year’s fair.

Residents of buildings inthe vicinity of the MountMary Church had filed a pe-tition complaining about theinconvenience caused by thefair held around the churchin September. They said theBMC permitted unautho-rised hawkers who crowdedthe roads and made it diffi-cult for residents to usetheir cars. Even municipalbuses and school vehiclesfound it difficult to ply in thearea during the fair, the res-idents said.

The petition was moved

about two days prior to thefair. On September 1, after theBMC counsel said the corpo-ration will permit only 165

hawking stalls, the court hadadjourned the matter.

During the hearing of thepetition, residents said that

during the fair, there weremore hawkers than the num-ber permitted by the BMC.The court was also told that

about 100 persons ap-proached the house of themain petitioner and threat-ened her, allegedly to forceher to withdraw the petition.The petitioners sought con-tempt action against the po-lice and the BMC for theseincidents.

Disposing the petition onSeptember 28, the court saidthe petition involved a sensi-tive issue. “While we are con-cerned about inconveniencecaused to residents, we alsohave to take note of the sen-timents of some of the in-terveners who claim that forseveral years they have beenhawking on these streets. Ac-

cording to them, that is theirsource of livelihood and thishawking also has a religioussignificance,” the judges said.

Consult residents before planning next Bandra fair: HC

PRISONER PROFILE> Khambe was involved in

several cases, includingfiring on filmmakerRakesh Roshan

> A special MCOCA courtsentenced him to lifeimprisonment

> While lodged in theBangalore jail in anabduction case, hebefriended Narkar

> The duo was brought toMumbai to probe itsrole in a case of firing

Residents at a seminar todiscuss the radiation ofmobile phone towers

There were delaysin knowing theharms of X-rays. Itshould not be sothat we haveproblems likecancer on a largescale after 30 years

—Girish Kumar, IIT-Bombay professor

LEGAL WRANGLE

> HC dismissed a plea ofTanishq Builders, whichsought eviction of 10minority shareholders ofPraja Housing Society,Ghatkopar

> The builder had agreedto acquire a portion ofland adjoining thesociety beforedeveloping the entire plot

> As this was not done,the redevelopment wasin breach of theagreement

> The incubation cell,which will primarily bedriven by students’ ideas,will cater to currentstudents as well asalumni of NMIMS

> The institute currentlyhas an entrepreneurshipcell, which conductslectures and businessplan competitions

> A trial run for theincubation cell was heldin 2009-10 when theentrepreneurship celltied up with the ministryof small and mediumenterprises and viableinitiatives were referredto the ministry

TALENT SCOUT

PERMISSION DENIED> The govt has denied approval

to 4,000 new Marathi schools

> These include those thatsought approval for extensionto upper primary classes

> The reason for denyingpermissions is that the govt is reluctant to provide aid,believe activists

WHIRL OFCOLOURSA young womandances at theSomaiyaGround at agarbaorganised bythe Jain JagrutiCentre,Ghatkopar —Mukesh Trivedi DNA

BALANCING ACT> Fair to be held as

per SC guidelineslaid down in Dec ’03> Traffic dept should

ensure residents arenot inconvenienced> Fire brigade should

submit a report onthe condition ofhydrants andlocation of firebrigade vans> BEST should look at

demand of extrabuses

File photo of a ferris wheel at the fair. The legal roller coasterthat overshadowed the celebrations this year is now over