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Harazy preventing work going ahead yesterday despite the heat.

One-man protest over telecom tower work in Bahrain

MANAMA, June 16, 2015

A homeowner at a luxury residential development staged a sit-in yesterday (June 15) to prevent work going ahead on a telecom tower outside his house in Bahrain.

Mohammed Ali Harazy, 62, from Saudi Arabia, refused to move from the site at Riffa Views where the mast is supposed to be erected, which meant that work had to be halted, said a report in the Gulf Daily News (GDN), our sister publication.

However, it has emerged the tower is just one of six new telecom masts being erected at Riffa Views, after permission was sought from the Supreme Council for Environment (SCE), the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) and an external agent.

The Riffa Views Home Owners Association said it supports the work going ahead, adding that residents were informed about the plan last month.

Association safety and security representative Fahad Nabeel Taqi said the masts, which will be designed to look like palm trees, were required due to the growing number of people living at the development.

“The TRA has instructed all telecom providers to ensure that 99.5 per cent coverage is extended to all (mobile) users in Bahrain,” he said.

“While it noted in 2009 it was not needed in Riffa Views as the occupancy was less than 500, now we have over 1,000 residents so we need to set up these towers.”

He also played down fears about the potential health risks from the towers.

“According to all the studies, the radiation emitted from these towers is only 0.09 microwatts, while international standards approve a wavelength of 10 megawatts in a 500-m radius,” said Taqi.

He added that as part of the arrangement to erect the new towers, BD4,000 ($10,524) was being spent on play areas, gardens and landscaping.

“The choice of the location is to avoid diesel generators and to make use of the electrical transformers available nearby the site,” said Taqi.

However, Harazy, a retired electrical engineer who used to work for Saudi Aramco, told the GDN he was concerned for his family’s health.

“I am worried about the health of my family and that emissions from the tower could lead to cancer, infertility and neurological problems,” he said.

Harazy, a resident of Bahrain for 15 years, has owned a property in the East Lagoon area of Riffa Views for the past five years and lives with his wife and five daughters.

He began his sit-in at 9 am and remained at the site until dusk, equipped with bottles of water to stay hydrated.

While he did take a break in the morning, he returned to take up his position after finding construction had resumed and said he planned to continue his one-man protest today.

“I want some decision makers to address our concerns as homeowners,” he said.

The GDN reported last week that Riffa Views residents had filed a police complaint against plans to build the tower.

Thirty villa owners signed a petition to halt work and lodged an official complaint with the TRA.

The site for the tower had since been moved a short distance following the objections, particularly from one property owner whose house would have been directly adjacent to it.

However, Harazy claimed the new location was still not suitable – saying it was now closer to other people’s villas and a children’s playground.

“We already have issues with sewage and there is an oil well, which we were told would be decommissioned, but is functional – and now a telecom tower. All these next to the play area.

“There is a larger open area, 7 km of the golf club and much more beyond. Why don’t they erect it in an open area?”  

A representative of the contractor responsible for the work said he was concerned about Harazy’s health, with temperatures reaching 38 deg C.- TradeArabia News Service




Tags: Bahrain | tower | Telecom | protest | Riffa |

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