Goans resisting expansion of mobile tower network: BSNL

PANAJI - State-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) is finding it increasingly difficult to set up mobile phone towers in rural Goa due to stiff opposition from the locals, a senior BSNL official Thursday said.

The resistance had severly limited BSNL’s expansion and connectivity in Goa’s rural areas.

Speaking to reporters in Panaji during the launch of BSNL’s 3G services in north Goa Thursday, BSNL’s chief general manager (Maharashtra-Goa circle) Alok Kaul said that there was a huge fear in the minds of rural Goan villagers that mobile towers would have a detrimental effect on their health.

“Out of the 260 towers planned in rural Goa, nearly 76 are still pending because there is opposition from the villagers,” Kaul said.

“This has hampered our 2Gmobile expansion plan tremendously as we could not erect many towers, as no objection certificates were not issued by the village panchayats and other relevant bodies,” he said, adding that the misconception - that radiation from mobile towers affects health - should be cleared as soon as possible.

“The scene in Goa is that people are not giving us land. They are not giving us co-opration at all when it comes to erecting towers in Goa,” the BSNL official said.

Goa became the third region in BSNL’s Maharashtra-Goa telecom circle to have 3G connectivity after Pune and Nashik cities in Maharashtra.