Balasore, April 5: The proposed power supply from an 11kv line to a mobile tower in Jaleswar town has been stalled following stiff opposition from local residents and intervention of the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights.

The local residents had strongly opposed when the said tower was erected adjacent to a private nursery school in the thickly populated area of Balasore. They had also objected to the laying of an 11kv overhead line from a substation, apprehending threat to their life as well as that of the schoolchildren.

“The power supply to the said mobile tower has been withheld following objections from the residents as well as the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights,” said Narendra Kumar Das, the executive engineer of Northern Electricity Supply Company (Nesco).

The supervisory charge deposited with the company would be refunded as power supply could not be given to them owing to the disputes, he said. The local residents had sought intervention of the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights quoting a report of the eight-member inter-ministerial committee formed by the ministry of communication and information technology, which recommended that mobile towers should not be installed near high density residential areas, schools, playgrounds and hospitals, as they might cause medical problems.

The local residents had brought their problems to the commission’s notice stating that power supply to the mobile tower would adversely affect the health of the nursery school’s children.

“Although power supply has been stalled, yet the mobile tower is being run by a diesel generator set. Since the radiation from the said mobile tower would cause harm to the local residents as well as children, we want to shift it from its present location. We would take resort to agitation if it is not shifted from here,” said Aswani Kumar Nath, one of the petitioners.

“We are examining the complaints and the ground situation. We would go by the law to solve this dispute,” said additional district magistrate Sribatsa Jena.