That's what most of Noida remained on Wednesday, as mobile towers continue to be sealed

Out of coverage area

That's what most of Noida remained on Wednesday, as mobile towers continue to be sealed

Sharad Natani, 25, could not reach a prospective employer for a telephonic interview on Wednesday.
He had a mobile phone but there was no network coverage. And Sharad was not the only one. The whole town faced huge problems in getting connected to friends and business interests.

The problem attained such magnitude in the evening that even emergency services were hit. It was not limited to a particular area or network but happened across the spectrum.

Of the 600-odd mobile towers in Noida, around 250 have already been sealed by Noida Authority that affected normal life. Most towers situated in the residential sectors 29-35 and industrial sectors 2-12 did not comply with the set norms. The Municipal Corporation of Delhi has also sealed about 40 towers. Delhi has 4,532 towers out of which 2,517 are reckoned illegal by MCD. However, Delhi has a set policy on towers, which was constituted in 2003.

The bad news is that the problem is here to stay and may also spread to other states. Authorities have started a survey to find out if any more illegal towers are there.u00a0
This sudden action against illegal towers has left operators in a fix as subscribers in Noida are facing serious connectivity problem for the past four days.

Angered with the Noida authority's move Indus Towers and another tower companies have filed a writ petition in the Allahabad High Court.
The next hearing in the case is on February 8.u00a0 So, there will be no respite before any court verdict or formation of new policy.

Soon subscribers in Mumbai and Chhattisgarh might fall prey to crackdown similar to the one conducted by the Noida authority. According to SC Khanna, General Secretary, AUSPI about 60 odd towers in Mumbai and 30 in Chhattisgarh have been sealed and there may be a possibility of more such cases.

u00a0The Cellphone operators association has termed Noida authority's action "dictatorship". "Noida authority is not co-operating with the cellular operators. Instead of harassing people they should sit with the operators and frame a policy. If they are now calling it illegal then what were they doing when the towers were being installed," added Khanna.

u00a0"They are not illegal. The action taken by the Noida authorities is totally arbitrary and uncalled for," said T.R. Dua, director general of the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI).

Legal costs

As per the guidelines, an operator has to take certain clearances before installing a tower, which includes structural safety clearances and no-objection certificate from resident welfare associations.
Noida authority charges Rs.1-lakh fee per tower with all these clearances. And in case if a tower is installed before taking go ahead from civic authorities, Rs.1.5 lakh has to be deposited within a stipulated time along with all necessary clearances.

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