In case you have been wondering why Bollywood actor Juhi Chawla has lately been behaving more than like an activist — meeting those in the corridors of power and using public fora to articulate her views on the need to save Indians, particularly children, from the harm caused by technology — the answer lies in her struggle against mobile towers installed near her home in Mumbai.
The chirpy actor, who recently addressed a seminar at PHD Chambers of Commerce and Industry in collaboration with Syenergy Environics, admitted that she was completely at sea about the damage caused by the innocuous looking towers till she “researched on them and came to know about the harmful radiation emitted by them.”
Recounting her experience, the actor said, “You have all seen me singing and dancing around trees. So what am I doing here in the presence of Dr. Devra Davis? Four years ago, I became aware of menace of radiation emitted from towers. Fourteen mobile towers with multiple antennae were set up near my residence. I was absolutely clueless about the adverse impact of these towers but my husband pointed out that these towers weren’t good for our health as they transmitted harmful radiation. I researched and checked home for the presence of radiation and was worried about the future of my children.”
The actor’s appeal went unheeded even when she wrote letters to the authorities. “They in turn directed me to someone else. I was in despair and almost gave up when my friendly neighbour Prakash Munshi helped me in getting these antennae removed.”
But the entire exercise of jolting the sleepy administration was not an easy one. The actor, along with Munshi, appealed to all the concerned people and authorities. To save residents, the duo dabbled in investigative journalism and put up banners on their compound wall to create awareness. “All this was two years ago,” she said.
After having interacted with scientists and radiation experts, who shared their knowledge having done an in-depth study on the subject, the actor is convinced that Indians have been suffering due to mobile towers as they are located near their residences and offices. As a solution, she wants proper regulations and laws. She recently met the Health Minister and other officials in the Union Government in this regard. The standards of radiation from antennae in Russia, Italy and Poland are considerably lower than those in India, she said.
The actor is also advocating that mobiles be kept at a safe distance from one’s body as they can lead to “infertility, breast cancer and reduction of brain cells among children”. “Mobiles are not toys and shouldn’t be given to kids,” she emphasised.
“We are not aware that a whole lot of radiation has been unleashed. Mobiles are a fantastic tool but be careful and use them smartly and intelligently. You should rather be safe than sorry. Twenty years ago, only a handful of people owned mobiles. Suddenly it became popular and today India has 904 million users, while in the U.S. there are only 300 million users,” said the actor.
