In addition to the perils of old dilapidated structures, the danger posed by old mobile towers has given the Kolkata Municipal Corporation cause to look for solutions. The civic body is considering plans to pull down non-functional mobile towers on rooftops that are posing threats to the residents in the surrounding area. According to mayor Firhad Hakim, earlier, several telecom service providers installed mobile towers on rooftops paying some processing fees to the KMC. The companies were responsible for the maintenance of the mobile towers. However, later, some of the companies wrapped up their business in the city and the towers were left abandoned and in poor condition.
Mayor Hakim, speaking during the weekly ‘Talk To Mayor’ programme, said the KMC is considering holding a meeting with the telecom operators and seeking the list of defunct mobile towers in each ward of the municipal corporation. He said this in response to a caller who complained abo ut bits falling from the mo bile tower on a high rise posing a threat to public safety. “I will soon hold a meeting with the telecom service providers and ask for the list of such defunct mobile towers in every ward. Once received, the Building Department will verify the list and ask the building owners to take up the dismantling of the dangerous towers. In cases where owners are not willing to dismantle the dangerous mobile towers, the KMC would make arrangements to pull those down and sell the material as scrap.