Jaffna coucillors make a U turn after spreading tall tales over lamp posts

Asenior-level delegation led by the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of a leading telecommunication services provider – Dialog Axiata Group met Mayor of Jaffna V Manvannan on Friday to brief him of ‘concerns’ raised over the installation of lamp posts within the city limits.

This was after a coordinated misinformation campaign was carried out by certain council members about the lamp posts being equipped with 5G – the fifth-generation – telecommunication technology.

The group had allegedly spread fake news and engaged in campaigns saying that these new lamp posts would cause i n f e r t i l i t y, cancer and suspicious deaths when the project was approved by former Mayor Immanuel

Arnold. The agitators backup their spurious claims from a global conspiracy theory against 5G technology that also suggested that the same lamp posts spread COVID-19 as well.

It was a political witch hunt against the then-Mayor and a case was filed in the Jaffna High Court where it was dismissed during t he preliminary inquiry on the basis that the claim lacked scientific evidence. It was the current Mayor, who appeared on behalf of the petitioners.

This week, the Dialog delegation cleared those rumours saying the telecom agency will not be fixing any 5G devices as suspected but cellular antennas to manage the network quality alone. They even went one step further to issue a written assurance that they will not be fixing any 5G devices without council approval.

One member of the d e l e g ation, the Chief Technical Engineer, declared that he is living proof of no side effects due to long exposure to similar antennas since his office is located under a similar antenna and he has been working there for over 20 years.

A seemingly convinced Mayor said he will put the matter to the council and seek approval before giving the go-ahead. Among those council members who were invited to the meeting was an Opposition member who told his colleagues that those selfserving petty politicians who were behind this misinformation campaign should be ashamed of themselves for misleading the public and now they have to make a U-turn.