Wireless technologies key to India’s development: Telecom secretary

India needs to embrace and harness wireless communication technologies to become the most developed nation in the coming decades, telecom secretary JS Deepak said on Tuesday.
“Whether India grows at normal pace or it actually leapfrogs to become one of the most developed nation in coming decades, will inter-alia depend on how we embrace and harness wireless communication technologies,” he said at at the inaugural session of a public outreach and awareness programme on electromagnetic field (EMF) emissions and mobile towers organised here under the DoT ‘s aegis.

Stressing telecom towers are critical installations on which the backbone of wireless communication rests, he said that unfounded apprehensions around EMF emissions and mobile towers have the potential to derail the country’s growth story.
Deepak also said that there is no scientific evidence backing the claim that EMF radiation from mobile towers – which are below the safe limits prescribed by the International Commission on Non-ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) and recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) – can cause adverse health effects.

The DoT has already prescribed strict precautionary norms for exposure limit for the radio frequency field (base station emissions) which is 10 times more stringent than the existing limits prescribed by ICNIRP and recommended by WHO.
“Our EMF norms are much stricter than what is followed by many developed nations, including the US, the UK and most parts of the European Union. Further, the government of India has taken adequate steps to ensure that telecommunications service providers strictly adhere to these prescribed norms,” he added.

Read the original article here.

Telecom tower radiation ‘not hazardous to health’

JS Deepak, Union Secretary of the Department of Telecommunications and Information Technology, has dispelled fears that telecommunication towers are create health hazards for people.

Deepak addressed a public outreach and awareness programme organised under the aegis of the Department of Telecommunications on Electromagnetic Field (EMF) Emissions and Mobile Towers in Dehradun today. He said telecom towers were critical installations that were the backbone of wireless communication in the country. He admitted that unfounded apprehensions that telecom towers radiations were a health hazard could derail the country’s growth story.

“Electromagnetic emission from mobile towers are much below the safety limits prescribed by the International Commission on Non-ionizing Radiation Protection and recommended by the World Health Organization. There is no scientific evidence of telecom towers causing adverse health effects,” Deepak said.

Shivendra Bhatnagar, Senior Deputy Director General, Telecom Enforcement Resource and Monitoring (TERM) unit, explained the strict monitoring and enforcement mechanism put in place by the Department of Telecommunications for EMF related compliance. He said a committee formed at the behest of the Allahabad High Court comprising experts from IITs, AIIMS, Delhi, Indian Council of Medical Research and the Indian Institute of Toxicology Research, Lucknow, had also on the basis of scientific evidences, studies and reports available, found that there was no conclusive evidence about the stated dangers of EMF radiation from mobile towers.

Another speaker Dr TK Joshi from Maulana Azad Medical College, Delhi, said scientific studies had not been able to conclude that EMF emissions from mobile towers could cause health hazards. “Till date there is no evidence to conclude that exposure to low-level electromagnetic fields is harmful to human health,” he added.

Dr Suresh Attili from Grace Cancer Foundation said electromagnetic emission norms were much stricter in India than followed by many developed nations, including the USA, the UK and most parts of the European Union.

Several senior officers from the Central Government, Uttarakhand government, eminent persons and public representatives attended the programme.

Read the original article here.

Myths and Misconceptions more dangerous than Mobile Tower radiation

If random theories were to be believed, we would all have been dead by now or worse may have damaged the Blood cells, skin disorders, weak eyesight, hearing loss, balded, sexually and mentally incapacitated, given the mobile towers which are placed in close proximity of human in-habitation. Loss of Sparrows and Bees has already been blamed on the tower and site installations only not taking into account other factors including pollution, growing population and associated human infestation into animal habitat.

If latest reports by WHO, The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and National Green Tribunal (NGT) and Researchers from IIT Madras, IIT Bombay, IIT Hyderabad, IIT Delhi and IISc Bangalore are to be believed then there is no harmful impact of tower radiation on health.

 In-fact one of the reports put together by a 13-member advisory board constituted by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) mentions that the standards set by India are much lower than the universally embraced suggestions of the International Commission on Non Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP), which represent thermal and non-thermal impacts. Which means that radio-frequency radiations from mobile towers are non-ionising electromagnetic radiations and they can’t break chemical bonds or cause ionisation in the human body and linking up mobile tower emissions with the category of high energy radiation which includes frequencies beyond ultraviolet, i.e. X-rays, gamma rays, etc. would be absolutely in-appropriate. Radiation from both mobiles and towers are safe because they are low energy, non-ionising radiation that can induce only thermal effects.
In India, the concern in certain quarters about radiation from mobile towers arises from the highly flawed extrapolation of the fear of ionising radiation to the ultra-weak radio-frequency radiation from mobile towers and phones. This is the basic origin of the great Indian myth concerning mobile tower “radiation”.

While there is no denying that both cell towers and mobile phones emit radiation, but the emission levels are within regulations set by the regulator and the DoT in conjunction with Public health and medical research bodies. Stringent norms for telecom companies in India have been devised with the government stipulating a fine of Rs 10 lakh for violation and a penalty of more than Rs 10 crore for exceeding the prescribed limit for radiation from telecom towers. The mobile handsets too In India, are not allowed to emit radiation more than 1.6 watt/kilo, which is called SAR or specific absorption rate. This safety limit followed by India is far more stringent than norms followed by other developed countries. More so, these statistics when pitted against the standards followed by International Commission on Non-ionising Radiation Protection suggest that India’s safety factor is 10 times stiffer than in 90 per cent countries.

There were concerns raised by WHO in 2014-15, suggesting that The government’s order to reduce the power of mobile towers’ radio frequency, to minimise harmful radiation, could be detrimental to humans. The experts believed that reduction in the power of a base station, the mobile handset transmits more frequency to stay connected to the network. As the handset is closer to the body, it could cause some health hazard. The estimated EMF radiation a mobile handset transmits is 1,000 times higher than that of a base station and the radiation exposure from a base station was about five times lower than from a television or a transistor.

The government which was under a lot of pressure from activists, citizen charters and residents’ organizations and the matter relates to the concern of citizens due to the lack of empirical research and data has come out in open to dismiss the myths attached to the current EMF standards and impact on human health. Last month Ravi Shankar Prasad, Telecom Minister cited WHO findings, mentioning no harmful impact of tower radiation on health.

On the hindsight, experts believe that the stringent norms set by the DoT could be detrimental to the country’s movement towards the next level of technology, such as 5G and have an adverse impact on quality of service and investments especially when The government is banking on mobile devices for the delivery of many citizen centric schemes such as financial inclusion and direct-benefit transfer. Radiation issues, which are not medically founded, could jeopardize these ambitious initiatives.

The original article was written and published by Srikapardhi from Telecom Talk. Read the original article here.

Mobile Tower Radiation Not Harmful: DoT Panel

In a report presented by a 13-member committee constituted by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), it’s concluded that the mobile tower radiation is harmless. India has has adopted ten times more stringent measures than the International Commission on Non Ionising Radiation Protection (ICNIRP), which account for thermal and non-thermal effects, said the report.

“Radio frequency fields are among the most highly researched potential hazards. There are thousands of papers in literature and health agencies have reviewed all of them many times. Virtually all agree — that there are no demonstrated hazards from exposure to RF energy at levels below international (and Indian) limits. More research is needed, but the studies will have to be very well done, very large, and very focused — which will be very expensive. India should give more support to international efforts in this area, particularly the EMF project of the World Health Organisation,” says Dr. Kenneth R Foster at a press conference organised at Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi.

The conference jointly organized by IIT-D and Maulana Azad Medical College (MAMC), New Delhi, in association with Health Environment Foundation, New Delhi was inaugurated by Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad, Hon’ble Union Minister, Ministry of Communications and IT, Government of India, who released a background paper on EMF emissions from mobile towers.

“So far, no conclusive evidence has been found on adverse health effects of EMF radiation from the mobile handset by the World Health Organisation (WHO)…(and) so long as EMF radiation power levels in the vicinity of base stations of cellphone towers are below the prescribed limits, there should not be any cause of concern for adverse thermal health affects on human beings living close them,” the committee said in its report.

“Although there are plenty of studies conducted across the world on the topic, currently there is no conclusive scientific evidence which establishes that EMF has harmful non-thermal effects,” remarked the committee. “Some countries are taking a precautionary approach by reducing EMF levels below those specified by ICNIRP and India is one of them that has reduced prescribed EMF radiation levels by a factor of 10,” said the report.

The committee presented the report based on an Allahabad High Court order dated January 10, 2012. In the committee report, the panel has proposed few recommendations as well. The proposed recommendations ask the DoT to continue the extensive audit of the self-attested certificates being submitted by telecom service providers to ensure with prescribed stricter norms of EMF radiation from BTS towers. It has given the responsibility to further conduct the research on this topic to The Department of Science and Technology and Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).

In order to make the process transparent, the committee suggested creating a national EMF web portal where public can access the status of compliance to prescribed EMF norms. Finally, the committee calls for efforts to spread awareness on EMF and precautions to remove apprehensions regarding the possible health effects of radiation, which it claims to be created by certain sections of the people.

Meanwhile, telecom service providers have backed the report, saying their safety norms are strict and the mobile towers are harmless. “India’s mobile emission safety norms are strict and radiation from telecom towers is not a cause for concern,” Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) said in a statement.

“As fears of EMF (electro-magnetic fields) emission from towers in the people are misplaced, we have to collectively allay them (fears),” Association Director-General Rajan S Mathews said in a letter to MLA Ram Lal Sharma, who expressed concerns about the tower radiation. According to Mathews, any unwarranted concern over installing telecom towers would impact the government’s Digital India dream of the Prime Minister.

“Though India’s EMF guidelines are based on the WHO-commissioned ICNIRP’s (International Commission for NonIonising Radiation Protection) norms, which are followed by many countries worldwide, we have reduced its (ICNIRP) limits to one-tenth in 2011, becoming one of the safest countries,” the letter further pointed out.

The original article was written and published by Ria from The Telecom Times. Read the original article here.

Mobile tower emission does not cause human health issues: experts

Union Telecom Minister, Ravi Shankar Prasad, launched a background paper on EMF emissions from mobile towers

Mumbai: Telecom experts and doctors of international repute in a joint conference on ‘Electromagnetic Emissions in Mobile Telephony and its Health Impact’ at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi on Thursday said that electromagnetic emissions from mobile towers are not linked to health hazards as has been found by years of scientific research. The conference jointly organized by IIT-D and Maulana Azad Medical College (MAMC), New Delhi, in association with Health Environment Foundation, New Delhi was inaugurated by Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad, Hon’ble Union Minister, Ministry of Communications and IT, Government of India, who released a background paper on EMF emissions from mobile towers.

The conference, which drew experts from around the world, had among its speakers Dr. M. C. Mishra, Director AIIMS, Dr. Kenneth R. Foster, University of Pennsylvania, USA, Dr. C. K. Chou, ICES (International Committee on EMF Emissions) IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineer) and Mr. S. S. Sirohi, former Member, Telecom Commission, Government of India.

Addressing the participants at the conference, Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad said, “As responsible citizens, it is our duty to understand the importance of this conference. Misplaced concerns of mobile tower radiation could seriously jeopardise India’s path to greatness as seamless mobility could be affected by such unfounded fears. Thousands of research has been done on the subject and so far there is no conclusive evidence to link mobile tower emissions to human health hazards.”

The minister, who has been vocal about the myths and misnomers relating to EMF-related fears, released a background paper on the subject. The paper focuses on some of the most relevant issues of mobile telephony, including the Digital India dream and the talked about possible link between EMF emissions and its health effects. In addition to this, the paper also covers the opinions of select expert organizations on radiations emanating from cell towers and their possible impacts on human health.

Dr. Kenneth R. Foster of the University of Pennsylvania, USA, said, “Radio frequency fields are among the most highly researched potential hazards. There are thousands of papers in literature and health agencies have reviewed all of them many times. Virtually all agree — that there are no demonstrated hazards from exposure to RF energy at levels below international (and Indian) limits.

I have been involved in the field for over 45 years and nothing has changed — activists make lists of reported effects they consider to show there might be health problem at low-exposure levels, and health agencies extensively review these lists and do not see clear evidence of a problem. More research is needed, but the studies will have to be very well done, very large, and very focused — which will be very expensive. India should give more support to international efforts in this area, particularly the EMF project of the World Health Organisation.”

Echoing his views, Dr. C. K. Chou, well-known expert in the field of electromagnetic emissions, said, “There has understandably been concerns about the effects from the so-called radiation. However, it is equally important to note that there has been nothing so far to indicate that health issues and EMF are related. In fact, numerous studies on the subject — even those seeking to draw a link have been unable to do so.”

“Research on non-ionizing radiation and its effects on human health have found no conclusive evidence to link the two. As the head of a committee to look into the subject, I found that various international organisations of international repute, including the World Health Organisation (WHO) has concluded that there is no evidence to link mobile tower emissions with any health hazards,” said Mr. S. S. Sirohi, former Member Technology, DoT. Mr. Sirohi served as Chairman of the all-important Committee of Multidisciplinary Experts set up under the direction of the Allahabad High Court for examining issues related to EMF emissions or radiation from mobile towers and handsets. As per the Court’s orders, there were Institute-nominated representatives from the five IITS of Mumbai, Kanpur, Kharagpur, Delhi, Roorkee and other eminent experts from institutions like the Indian Council of Medical Research, Indian Institute of Toxicology Research-Lucknow, AIIMS, TEC, DST, etc. The Committee submitted its findings and recommendations to the Hon’ble High Court.

Dr. K. Thyagarajan, Director, IIT Delhi, said he was happy that so many scientists and experts had come together for the conference. Delivering the keynote address, Dr. Thyagarajan said, “I want to thank all telecom scientists and doctors for having come together to this first-of-its-kind conference on EMF in India and hope that we shall be able to have fruitful discussions on a subject, which has been the subject of debate.”

The conference saw many participants who had come to hear the experts and the Minister speak on a subject that has been shrouded in myths.

Read the original article here: http://www.deccanchronicle.com/technology/mobiles-and-tabs/070416/mobile-tower-emission-does-not-cause-human-health-issues-experts.html

 

Is mobile tower radiation harmful? We find the answer for you!

Every piece of technology has its pros and cons. And that leads to the rise of rumours, and in turn the facts get buried under the dearth. Over the last couple of years, the mobile network technology has advanced from just being able to make calls to supporting blazing fast speeds + crystal clear sound. But no matter how advanced it is today, it’s growth has had speculations that it harms us and rumours afloat that its not safe for us.

But have those rumour-mongers ever tried to understand the technology and read the facts before speculating and spreading the rumours? No!

So let us help you find the answer and also support it with what the industry experts and health leaders are saying:

“Mobile tower radiation is inherently a type of radiation that we believe does not produce any kind of significant harm to humans.” – Dr. Bhavin Jankaria, President at Indian Radiology and Imaging Association.

According to tests and research by various radiology institutes and associations across the world, X-rays have associate energy level of the order of 100 eV to 1,00,000 eV, UV has associate energy level of around 100 eV or less and whereas light is of the energy level of about 1 eV, the radio frequency radiations from the mobile towers and the cellular phones are in the range of one-thousandth to one-millionth of an eV. That’s a fraction of what can be considered has harmful waves or radiations.

Also what’s interesting is the fact that the emission levels in our country are 1/10th of the global standards recommended by ICNIRP (International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection) and recognised by the WHO (World Health Organisation).

And don’t think that our government is sleeping on this speculated issue. Government of India has formed special cells called Telecom Enforcement Resource and Monitoring (TERM) cells to closely monitor mobile towers in the India. These cells not only regularly monitor the towers but also perform random checks to make sure all the norms issued by the government are being followed. TRAI Principal Advisor Suresh Kumar Gupta states, “The EMF penalty norm that has been set by the Department of Telecom (DoT) as on November 2013 levies a penalty of Rs 10 lakh per tower site per telecom service provider if they fail to comply with the set standards.”

So when the Government of India, World Health Organisation, and many other reputed bodies are assuring and keeping a check on the myth of Mobile Towers – Electromagnetic Field (EMF) that harm us. It’s time we believe in the facts and stop speculating that mobile tower radiations are harmful for us. In the end, I’d like to state and standby #SafeMobileTowers.

Source: http://www.honeytechblog.com/is-mobile-tower-radiation-harmful-we-find-the-answer-for-you/

Mobile Tower Radiations Myth: “The Truth Unrevealed”

Mobile Tower Radiations Myth!

The electromagnetic radiations from the mobile towers have been speculated to cause adverse health effects. However, this is not the truth. It is the high energy radiation, commonly referred to as ‘ionizing radiations’ that has the potential to damage matter, particularly living tissues. The ultra weak radio frequency emitted by the mobile towers is thousand times weaker than these ‘ionizing radiations’ and have seen to have no serious health impacts.

A very small unit of energy called electron volts (eV) is used to measure radiation. While the X-rays have an energy level of the order of 100 eV to 1 lac eV, Ultraviolet has an energy level of around 100 eV or less and the visible light is of the energy level of about 1 eV, the radio frequency radiations from the mobile towers and the phones are in the range of one-thousandth to one-millionth of an eV! Thus, the mobile tower ‘radiations’ is lakhs of times weaker than X-rays or UV rays or even the normal visible light. Hence, they are classified as ‘non ionizing radiations’. To add to it, the power density received on the surface of the earth from the sun is in the range of 250-1,000 watts per square metre. As against this level, with which we are all comfortable, the radio frequency radiation from mobile towers is a hundreds of times lower. Therefore, there is no cause of alarm with regard to the possible ill-effects on human health by electromagnetic field (EMF) radiation from the cellphone towers.

Though India’s EMF guidelines are based on the WHO-commissioned ICNIRP’s (International Commission for Non Ionizing Radiation Protection) norms, which are followed by many countries worldwide, it has reduced its (ICNIRP) limits to one-tenth in 2011, thus becoming one of the safest countries. Also, The Indian Council of Medical Research, the apex body in India for the formulation, coordination and promotion of biomedical research, clarified that there is no scientific evidence indicating that the usage mobile phones can cause mental or physical disease.

Dr. Bhavin Jankaria, President at Indian Radiology and Imaging Association, said,

“We have been using X-ray radiations for more than 115 years, and we still haven’t been able to establish the relationship of cancer and radiation to any great extent. And the mobile tower radiation is inherently a type of radiation that we believe does not produce any kind of significant harm to humans.’’

The scientific evidences say it all. In fact, the radio-frequency “radiations” from mobile towers are nothing to consternate. However, some vested interests are spreading rumours amongst the less informed quarters of the society. This has seriously hampered the prospects of  Digital India. The dearth of adequate number of mobile towers is one of the reasons for deteriorating quality of mobile services in the country. Therefore, the need for more and more towers and quality infrastructure is increasing exponentially in the present age of high demand for data and mobile internet service. We need to understand more and fear less.
The “ultra-weak radio frequency emissions from mobile towers” is something not to be feared of.

The original article was written and published by Vivin Mitra of GizmoManiacs. Read the original article here.

COAI-GSPCB study finds mobile towers in Goa safe

The mobile towers erected in the state are safe as the electromagnetic field (EMF) emissions from the antennae mounted atop these towers are on an average five per cent of the upper limits allowed by the department of telecommunications (DoT).

A joint inspection and study by the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) and the Goa State Pollution Control Board (GSPCB) on Monday in the Patto area of the capital city revealed that the average radiations from the four towers inspected measured five per cent of the limits set by the DoT.

Addressing the media, COAI Director General Rajan Mathews said that as per the guidelines of DoT, the upper limit for radiations from cellular service provider towers should not cross 450 milliwatts/per square meter (mw/m2). However, the radiation counts measured 20.41 mw/m2 at the MICE institute, 7.50 mw/m2 atop Shramashakti Bhavan, 12.28 mw/m2 atop Ambrosia towers and 28.57 mw/m2 radiation was measured from the tower at Goa Tourism Development Corporation.

As an expression of endorsement that the cell tower radiation is not harmful, Mathews said that apart from the government making available its buildings for erecting the antennae, a tower has been erected even in the highly-secure and important residence of the first citizen of the country, the Rashtrapati Bhavan.

Stating that quality of service (QoS) levels for all operators in Goa is in conformity with the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) mandated QoS benchmark, Mathews said that the quantity of call drops was less than or equal to 2 per cent of the total voice calls. “If the cell tower call drops are more than 3 per cent then the company is liable for remedial action,” he added.

The COAI DG further informed that though the mobile connectivity has been increasing and requires more towers, locals in the areas of Porvorim, Siolim, Calangute, Baga, Arpora, Santa Cruz, Merces, Dramapur, Varca, Borda, Benaulim, Sancoale, Nagoa, Loutolim and Colva have been opposing erection of towers. “Call drops in these areas have been found to be the most,” he added.

To improve the facilities, Mathews said, “More than 1,200 cell sites need to be added to the current total of 3,500 cell sites to facilitate efficient network quality and better connectivity for residents and as well as for tourists who visit Goa every year.”

The article was published in The Navhind Times. Read the original article here.

Mobile towers safe for human health, says TRAI panel

ET Telecom: In an effort to clarify the apprehensions related to Electro Magnetic Field (EMF) Radiation of Mobile Towers, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) conducted an interactive meeting.

In an effort to clarify the apprehensions related to Electro Magnetic Field (EMF) Radiation of Mobile Towers, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) conducted an interactive meeting on Friday in sector 15, Gurgaon.

The representatives from TRAI stated in the interaction that there is a public concern about possible health hazards from EMF exposures from mobile towers, which has led to active scientific debate among the research agencies across the globe. However, the TRAI officials explained that the mobile tower radiations were nothing but radio waves.

“The government has implemented stringent norms to ensure that there is no adverse effect on human health from mobile tower emissions. This matter has been studied intensively and in various countries after a detailed examination of the findings of these 25,000 plus studies there is no conclusive evidence of adverse effect of EMF radiation on human health,” said Agneshwar Sen, Advisor (B&CS), (TRAI).

Sen mentioned that lack of adequate number of mobile towers was one of the reasons for deteriorating quality of mobile services. The TRAI panel also clarified that sparrows and bees are not affected by mobile towers and that the decline of sparrow population is due to urbanisation.

To help dispel false claims and create awareness about types of radiation, and their impact, last month, Mr. RS Sharma, Chairman of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has issued a statement. You can read/watch it here.

Article Source: ET Telecom

Image Source: iGovernment

TRAI SAYS MOBILE TOWERS DON’T AFFECT HEALTH

Electromagnetic field (EMF) exposures from mobile towers and their consequent health hazards have been the point of debate in the scientific community for a long time now. A 13-member committee constituted by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) and Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), cleared the air in a report on Monday.

TRAI stated that after a detailed examination of 25,000-plus studies, ‘no conclusive evidence of adverse effect of EMF radiation’ on human health had been proven. Sunil Kumar Gupta, principal advisor, said, “Mobile towers do not cause any harm as they also fall in the same category as other waves like electricity, radio and TV. But people in high rise within 1 km of TV towers or 500 meters of FM towers, have to put metallic wire mesh, plants, trees, water curtains to absorb radiation, which is the same with the mobile tower.”

He added that the government had implemented stringent norms to ensure that there was ‘no adverse effect on health’. The limits adopted in India account for all biological effects of radiation and are much lower than the internationally-adopted recommendations of the International Commission on Non-Ionising Radiation Protection (ICNIRP).

Since 2011, TRAI received around 120 complaints from Bengaluru urban and subsequent penalties were levied when EMF limits exceeded the benchmark, which officials cleared didn’t necessarily indicate they were harmful. Out of 120 complaints, 10 remained unchecked and would be looked into soon, they assured.

World Health Organization (WHO), has in the past, reported that there was ‘no convincing scientific evidence that the weak radio frequency (RF) signals from base stations and wireless networks, caused adverse health effects.’

Convenient Argument on sparrows
An argument that the population of sparrows reduced due to the rise of mobile towers, was discussed at the meeting.
Meanwhile, Agneshwar Sen, advisor at TRAI, citing a British University study said, “Researchers found that birds living in quiet barns and woodland were fed more than those in the noisier environment, meaning that they were heavier when they fledged and consequently better prepared for survival.”

The article was published in Bangalore Mirror, you can read it here.

Image Source: VNL