Juhi Chawla okay with mobile towers in Mumbai as long as norms are followed

Actress Juhi Chawla met BMC commissioner Sitaram Kunte to demand that guidelines be framed for erecting mobile towers in the city.

Bollywood actress Juhi Chawla has cleared her stand about mobile towers being erected in the city's buildings.

According to Chawla, she has no objections over the cell phone towers as long as norms and guidelines are followed.

Juhi Chawla

On Thursday, Chawla along with Vinod Shelar, a Bharatiya Janata Party corporator from Malad, had met municipal commissioner Sitaram Kunte to demand that guidelines be framed for erecting mobile towers.

When asked about if she gave up using mobile phone, she replied, "We are not totally against mobile towers. There should be safe distance between towers. Towers should not be within fifteen metres of each other. Also, there should be a fixed height for antennas," said Chawla. She has submitted a memorandum of her demands to the commissioner.

The actress however felt disappointed about older mobile towers. "The BMC is making new guidelines for new towers and not the existing ones which is upsetting," said Chawla.

When contacted, Kunte said, "we are in the process and we will come up with new guidelines very soon. Before finalising the new guideline, the draft will be uploaded on the website for public opinion (suggestion and objection)."

"BMC also suggested Chawla to do a proper study with the help of medical council about the health hazards and the fear of radiation from mobile towers,"added Kunte.

Shelar warned to file a public interest litigation (PIL) against the towers. "If the central government would permit mobile towers anywhere in the city, I will file a PIL against the decision," he said.

In November, Shelar had raised the issue in the civic general body meeting and Mayor Sunil Prabhu too had seconded him and expressed his concern over the radiation from mobile towers.

He also asked the civic administration to take cognisance of the complaints raised by corporators.u00a0

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