Call drop issue to end within a month, says Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad

Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said on Thursday that the call drop issue would be resolved within a month as he came out strongly against a "sinister campaign" to spread a tower radiation scare that is hampering expansion of telecom infrastructure. He said that complaint against call drops and campaign against mobile towers cannot go together.

"This sinister campaign of ill-effects of radiation" people need to come out of it. There is difficulty in installing mobile towers. I examined it (radiation) very thoroughly myself with my proper lawyer background. I read the entire literature. There is WHO report with 30 thousand-plus sample; it is not injurious," Prasad said. "I ordered term cell to conduct an audit. Trai did an audit. Our department is monitoring. Within a month's time, things should improve. That is the impression I have," he said at an event of International Chamber of Commerce here.

Telcos have brought to the notice of the government about protests against mobile towers hampering their functioning. Prasad said, "The existence of radiation is not the issue; but whether it is injurious or not is the issue. It is not. As a minister, I am very clear that if anyone is going to show me unmotivated medical evidence, I am ready to look into it," he added. Prasad added that there has been no instance of anti-mobile tower radiation campaigns in the US, Europe and China. "Why in India? If there is a gap, we need to address it."

The minister also said the government is doing its duty and telecom operators need to perform theirs by optimising, synchronising and making adequate investment to improve mobile networks.

(In association with Mail Today)