New Delhi:  Residents in northwest Delhi's Shalimar Bagh are demanding the demolition of a mobile phone tower in their neighbourhood, alleging that electromagnetic radiation from it poses a threat to their lives.

Shubash Kapoor, a resident of BC Block in Shalimar Bagh (East), told IANS that an Idea cellular tower had been erected on the terrace of the third floor unit where he lived as a tenant, with the permission of the landlord.

As telecom giants pay huge rents for the required space, house owners allow them to set up mobile phone towers.

"Why can't they look at other alternatives for revenue? Why are they playing with the lives of residents?" Kapoor asked.

Sudha Sharma, an angry resident, said: "Why don't they [mobile network companies] understand residents' problems?

"We have to suffer because of mobile towers.

"For over two years since the erection of the mobile tower, we have been suffering health problems like headache, fatigue and vomiting because of radiation.

"My six-year-old son is the worst-hit," she claimed. "My doctor has confirmed these health issues are linked to radiation from the mobile tower," she said.

Sharma said their neighbour was suffering from cancer in the spinal cord, while another resident had complained of heart ailments.

The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) said Delhi had more than 5,000 mobile phone towers, of which 2,500 were illegally erected.

Most of these were in residential areas.

The MCD has threatened to seal illegal mobile phone towers because of possible health hazards.

The Delhi High Court had earlier ordered the formation of a panel to study any health risks caused by mobile phone towers.

But the court put a stay on it and issued notice to the cellular operators association to file their responses by July 8.

Exposure: Radiation regulated

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai), along with other central agencies, has proposed that the radiation exposure be limited to 9.2 watts per square metre in India, though experts say this needs to be widely debated and analysed before implementation.

In some countries, the legal limit in a radius between 50 and 300 metres varies from 0.001 to 0.24 watts per square metre.