The New Nation - Internet Edition

ALTHOUGH the manufacture of electronic gadgets in the country has long been considered unprofitable because the size of the local market has been viewed as too small to consume bulk of production, this argument does not seem applicable to the present mobile phone market. The number of mobile phone connections in the country is estimated to have crossed 40 million. During the last couple of years, the mobile phone market showed a phenomenal rate of expansion. According to a media report, the market expanded 138 percent in 2005 and 90 percent in 2006. The mobile phone operators are reported to have been expecting 100 percent expansion in 2007.

The use of mobile phones has revolutionised the telecommunication system in the country. Now huge number of people use mobile phones because of expansion of their network to remote corners of the country on the one hand and cheap rates of calls on the other. During the last few years, users of mobile phones have increased in number at geometric rates. It has generated huge revenue income for the government and the rapid growth of the market is expected to bring more. The mobile phone companies have also created new employment opportunities. Efforts are there to involve the telecommunication companies in the capital market. Introduction of mobile phones has accelerated business transaction and economic activities in the country. To cater to the needs of the expanding market, cannot mobile sets and accessories be manufactured or assembled instead of being imported? It is a potential sector for investment. The government should encourage the business community to take initiatives to produce them locally. Speakers at the opening ceremony of the Second International Mobile Phone Fair - 2007 in the city urged the government to formulate a unified policy to establish order in the mobile phone business.

Mobile phones have brought easy modes of communication but, at the same time, they have given rise to some dangers of health hazards. Regulatory laws and rules have then become urgent to check health threat posed by discarded mobile sets and batteries. Some components of mobile phone sets are radioactive. The batteries used in mobile sets contain highly toxic and carcinogenic chemicals. The sets or their batteries go out of order after continuous use and are discarded. If 40 million discarded batteries are thrown like household waste anywhere every two years, those will pose a real threat to the environment. Chemicals from discarded batteries will degrade soil and poison water. The people must be made aware of the health risks. The dealers and retailers must be required to take back the discarded batteries and mobile sets at the time of selling new ones so that they can ensure their safe disposal. If they fail to do so they should be punished. Laws must be enacted and enforced strictly to protect the environment from degradation by these new pollutants.