Mobile phone boosters a health hazard: IMA

 According to Indian Medical Association(IMA), the rays of these boosters can cause memory loss, headaches and even lower sperm count.

“There has been manifold increase in the sale of these signal boosters with mobile phone towers being moved away from residential areas to prevent excessive exposure to the radio frequency emissions” said Karim, a shopkeeper in Nehru Place. 

These boosters are available across the National Capital Region for as little as Rs 2,000 with prices ranging up to Rs 20,000. These boosters are used in Delhi and its satellite towns of Noida, Greater Noida, Gurgaon, and Ghaziabad to augment mobile signals. According to reports, it’s now a multi-crore business in the National Capital Region.

“Recently South Delhi Municipal Corporation removed some mobile towers calling them illegal so we have to install mobile signal boosters in our market due to the weak signals,” said a trader in South Delhi. There are complaints of low mobile signals in all sectors of NCR. 

“The sale of mobile signal boosters has witnessed a three-fold increase in the last one year. Earlier we used to sell around five boosters a day which has now gone up to more than 15. The current annual signal booster market in Noida is worth around Rs 100 crore,” says Kamlesh Singh, a supplier in Noida.

On complaints of harmful radiations, the Noida Authority had recently shifted several mobile towers away from residential areas to nearby green belts, leading to connectivity complaints across sectors, pushing up the demand for signal boosters.

 “It is not only the people who live in high-rises who buy these boosters but in the last one year we have started getting customers from unauthorized colonies too. Since the buildings are closely packed, most residents do not get <g data-gr-id="44">proper</g> mobile network. The boosters are easy plug-in devices and are available at cheap prices,” says Sudhanshu Malhotra, a dealer based in Karol Bagh.

However, according to AK Aggarwal, president of the Indian Medical Association, Noida, the purchase may hurt not just your pocket, but also your health. “In-house signal boosters should be avoided as it may be a health risk. As the signal is boosted, radiation emission goes up and people in the house, including children, get exposed to higher radiation levels.”