MOVING DAY

The Digicel cell tower at the centre of a storm of protest by the people of the small village of Olive Lodge, St James, will finally be removed by March 20, an elated spokesman for the community said Wednesday.

Dr Jennifer Obidah-Alleyne, chair of the Olive Lodge Residents’ Committee that was formed two weeks ago to campaign for the mast’s removal over health fears, said Digicel Chief Executive Officer Natalie Abrahams had given her the “great” news.

“I got a call from the CEO and she said the tower will be gone on or before March 20,” she told Barbados TODAY.

“I am elated. That’s what we wanted. I asked for an apology on behalf of the residents, but that wasn’t forthcoming. It doesn’t matter now. The most important thing is that we know it is moving and when it is moving.”

The mast, a temporary cell-on-wheels system to cover homes and businesses in the surrounding areas, was installed in the heart of the community in mid-January. It became a source of fear and anxiety as the householders claimed that the radio-frequency radiation emitted by the tower would pose cancer and other health risks.

Since then, the estimated 70 families have been adamant that the mast had to go.

Their actions included the submission of a petition to the regulator – the government Telecommunications Unit (TU) – with 123 signatures representing 67 of the existing families, heated exchanges involving Digicel representatives, the TU and the homeowners, and a plan – later called off – to stage a picket outside Government Headquarters and present documented evidence of their concerns to the Prime Minister’s Office.

At the heart of the controversy is the tower’s location 40 feet from the nearest home, in violation of a 65-foot separation guideline, the residents said.

Area MP Kerrie Symmonds on Tuesday demanded an apology from the telecoms utility for erecting the mast without first consulting with residents.

Symmonds, the senior minister for the productive sectors, labelled the company’s action as unacceptable, insulting and vulgar.

Earlier, political leader of the Democratic Labour Party Ralph Thorne SC had urged residents to stay united and not surrender “constitutional” rights in insisting that the tower must go.

Planning permission for the installation of the structure is still at the Planning and Development Department.

Digicel has said it was looking for an alternative location to set up the site that would still provide adequate cell phone coverage for the area.

It pointed out in a previous statement that the erection of the tower in Olive Lodge was necessary to properly service some 2 500 residents and 25 businesses.

emmanueljoseph@barbadostoday.bb