TOWERS OF CONCERN1. India has over 400,000 telecom towers at present, but the growth in the number of towers is just 3 percent annually, which compares poorly with the over 12 million subscribers added by industry every year. Telecom service providers say that a "health scare" among the public is what prevents additional towers from coming up in large numbers. What is the truth in this? 2. A Bio-Initiative Report in 2012 pointed towards health hazards due to radiation from cell towers. The most common of these are sleep disorder, headache, irritability, concentration problem, memory loss, depression, hearing loss and joint problems. More severe problems include seizures, paralysis, miscarriage, irreversible infertility and cancer. Many countries have lower radiation norms, says Girish Kumar, a professor in the electrical engineering department of IIT-Bombay. For instance, Austria has a radiation limit of 1 milliwatt per square metre. In countries such as Russia, China, Italy and Poland, the allowed limit is 100 milliwatt per square metre. "If mobile coverage is possible in these countries, then there is no reason why we cannot have low radiation levels in our country," says Kumar. 3. There was a wave of protests in Mumbai over possible radiation effects of cell phone towers. The protests grew after film actor Juhi Chawla stepped in to first get towers right opposite her home in Mumbai's Malabar Hill removed, and subsequently mobilised support from the public and activists to launch a full-fledged awareness campaign against cell phone towers. She wanted telecom companies to lower radiation levels on towers near residential areas, put a cap on the number of antennae, and place towers at a distance from buildings. Meanwhile, reports on the ill-effects of radiation poured in. For instance, residents of the Sree Samarth building in Dadar's Parsi colony claimed that they saw six cases of cancer in the building in a period of just three years, allegedly caused by radiation from telecom towers in the area. 4. The link between the towers and cancer was not proved in any of the cases, but they set panic bells ringing in government circles. In 2014, the Department of Telecommunications undertook a study on radiation levels through its Telecom Enforcement Resource and Monitoring (TERM) wing in Mumbai. It addressed the public's grievances and reassured them that operators are indeed adhering to the prescribed norms on radiation. Union Telecom Minister Ravi Prasad also told INDIA TODAY that there are no conclusive studies to prove that radiation from these towers is a health hazard. 5. The American Cancer Society, a non-profit organisation, says that radiation levels from cell phone towers are low since the towers are mounted high above ground level and signals are transmitted intermittently . Unless someone is exposed directly in front of the antennae, the radiation impact would be limited, the society says. - M.G. ArunOn the basis of your understanding of the passage answer the following questions with the help of the given options :a. The growth in the number of towers in India is '(i) 2 percent annually (ii) 3 percent annually (iii) 4 percent annually (iv)5 percent annuallyb. The most common health hazards due to radiation are (i) sleep disorder, headache (ii) memory loss, depressions (iii) hearing loss, joint problems (iv)All of the abovec. Department of Telecommunications conducted a study on radiation level through its (i) Telecom Monitoring Resource Wing (ii) Telecom Enforcement Resource and Monitoring (iii)Telecom Radiation Enforcement Wing (iv)Telecom Radiation Vigilance Departmentd. Which cancer society says that radiation levels from cell phone are low- (i) Indian Cancer Society (ii) Russian Cancer Society (iii)American Cancer Society (iv)African Cancer SocietyAnswer the following questions briefly.(e) How many telecom towers are present in India and what is the growth rate annually?(f) Name any three common and two severe health diseases due to radiation.(g) What is the allowed limit of radiation in Austria, Russia, Italy and Poland?(h) What was the ill-effects of radiation faced by the residents of Dadar's Parsi colony?(i) Which department of telecommunication undertook a study on radiation?(j) Which film actress protested over radiation effects of cell phone towers?(k) Find words from the passage which mean the same as :(i) emission(ii) complaint