ERODE: The latest weapon in the arsenal in defence of farmers against the HT Towerline project by Power Grid Corporation of India is the ill-effects of electromagnetic induction witnessed around existing HT towerlines across the State. Experiments conducted by farmers under existing towerlines showed an electromagnetic force reading of 3.22 μT (microtesla). World Health Organisation (WHO) classifies EMF exposure level above 0.4 μT as hazardous for human health.
The farmers who stand to lose their agriculture land to the project have filed an affidavit in the High Court against the project, citing this reason, said Tamil Nadu Farmers Association for Self-Sufficiency State President K V Ponnaiyan.
Pointing out that studies of WHO and many agencies have highlighted the harmful effects of electromagnetic waves, Ponnaiyan said that they are concerned about the health of farmers working in their lands. The studies confirmed several long and short term problems, including cancer, childhood leukemia and brain tumours, as a result of the electromagnetic waves. All this for an exposure level above 0.4 μT. The reading recorded under the towerlines went as high as 3.22 μT or 32.2 mG (milliGauss).
To prove the amount of electromagnetic induction, farmers stood below the 400 KV towerlines at Vijayampalayam with tubelights in their hands. All of them lit up. Electric testers placed on the faces and heads of the persons standing there also got illuminated, he said. Ponnaiyan has more such examples.
A woman picking mangoes near a towerline experienced a mild shock. Bulbs kept on the plant under the cables also lit up. Batteries of vehicles parked under the cables lost chargesoon. This was not the case in just Vijayamangalam, but also at Modakurichi, and Coimbatore and Tirupur
EB to look into it
Even as farmers and Erode MP A Ganesamurthy have taken up the issue of electromagnetic induction in their fight against Power Grid’s towerline project, TNEB Erode Division Chief Engineer V Chandrasekar has assured to study the phenomenon. It was via WhatsApp that the official’s attention was drawn to the many experiments to prove their theory.