'Mobile tower work on despite notice’

NAGPUR: The fate of residents of Natraj Housing Society situated in Gorewada still hangs in balance as the work of installing a mobile tower in a single-storey residential building continues in full swing.

TOI had earlier reported that Indus Towers, a city-based agency involved in setting-up infrastructure for private cellular companies, has erected a mobile antenna tower on the terrace of Vijay Tiwari's residence in Gorewada. The agency had allegedly not taken permission from Nagpur Improvement Trust (NIT) as well as residents of the area to erect the tower.

Despite various complaints filed by the residents, no action was taken against the agency or Tiwari. After the report was published in TOI, NIT's divisional officer of West zone Avinash Badge issued notices to Indus Towers and Tiwari, giving them 28 days to stop the work.

However, the work is still going on. "Two days back, a generator was brought to Tiwari's residence and electrical work has also started. To avoid facing the residents, Tiwari leaves the area when the work is going on," claimed a resident Jainand Mishra. He added that his wife is undergoing a neurology treatment and the tower is very risky for her health. "I discussed the matter with her doctor and he said it is not safe for her to be in such proximity of the mobile tower. Nobody bothered to consider all this while erecting a tower in the middle of a residential society," he said.

On the other hand, Badge has stated that the mobile tower will not be allowed to function in any case. "We are keeping an eye on the area and I personally inspected it too. As soon as the notice period gets over, we will seal the tower and cut all connections," he said.

Despite repeated attempts, Tiwari could not be contacted for his comment. Representative of Indus Towers too could not be contacted.