Thiruvananthapuram: The residents of a suburb in the city are urging the Government to stop a private mobile telephone company from setting up a communication tower in their neighbourhood.

At a recent meeting, the members of the Green Valley Residents Association (GVRA) in Muttada resolved to use all legal means to prevent the telephone company from pushing ahead with its plans to set up a tower in the locality.

The residents fear that "radiation" from the mobile phone tower can affect the health of community members.

They also apprehend that the "toxic fumes emanating from the battery used for powering the communication tower" will pollute the local environment.

The members of the association said that the company was planning to erect the tower in a piece of low-lying land.

The transmission power of the proposed tower was much higher than the limits prescribed by the Government, the GVRA alleged.

The members of the locality suspect that the "radiation" from the tower can have long-term and unknown ill effects on the health of citizens.

Meet Minister

The members of the association also met Law Minister M. Vijayakumar and Mayor C. Jayan Babu to plead their cause