A rally protesting against the use of nuclear power for civil and military purposes was taken out by the city-based magazine The Journalist at the Lenin Centre here on Friday in which hundreds of students from schools and colleges participated.
Focusing on the Koodankulam issue, where people had been protesting against the decision to set up a string of nuclear reactors in Tamil Nadu, activists and students took out the rally with placards that read ‘Let us say no to technology from nuclear energy'. Stating that the use of nuclear power would spread cancer due to radiation, they urged the scientific community to stop spreading falsehood about nuclear power and its impact. In support of this, the activists put up several photographs on pin-up boards and flex banners of victims of radioactivity.
Sensitive issue
They felt this was a sensitive social issue and responsibility at all levels was important to bring about a change.
The government's decision to allow uranium mining in Nalgonda and Kadapa drew the activists' ire. They demanded that the government drop its plans, citing the example of mass devastation in Japan and Ukraine due to accidents in the recent past.
Nuclear radiation, according to them, would spoil the lives of people not only in around the facility but also, on a larger scale, within a radius of 40 km. Several generations would suffer from its radiation, they said.
Taking exception to the bad practice of utilising wetlands and rich eco-systems to set up nuclear plants, the students said none of the nuclear plants was safe in the world and, despite several bad experiences, the government and the scientific community were not focusing on tapping alternative, cheap, and safe energy.
Keywords: nuclear energy
