Official reports home sales in Baqubah amid cancer scare linked to communication tower
Shafaq News / A government official in Diyala reported on Friday that several families have opted to sell their homes in Baqubah as a desperate escape from the cancer-related health crises triggered by a telecommunications tower located to the west of the city.
Abdullah Al-Hayali, the Mayor of Baqubah, disclosed to Shafaq News Agency that "several families in the Al-Mafraq neighborhood in the western part of Baqubah have initiated the sale of their residences and are relocating to other areas due to a surge in cancer cases, with 32 reported instances linked to a telecommunications tower operated by Asia Cell."
Furthermore, Al-Hayali explained, "An environmental assessment conducted by six experts and technicians confirmed that this tower in the Al-Mafraq region has been the source of cancer-related illnesses, after its conversion from a secondary tower to a primary transmission tower, accompanied by an increase in the number of reception dishes."
Al-Hayali urgently called upon the Media and Communications Commission to "intervene and assess the operations and risks posed by telecommunication towers in Diyala, in order to safeguard the population from cancer-related diseases and their dire consequences on the health landscape of Baqubah and the entire province."
The crisis surrounding the cancer-inducing telecommunications tower in Baqubah has erupted in recent days, prompting the Diyala governor to temporarily shut down the tower in response to local demands. However, it has resumed operations once more.
The Diyala Environmental Directorate and the Asia Cell telecommunications company have, thus far, refrained from issuing any statements or comments regarding the ongoing crisis since its eruption.
