A German national was picked up by Tamil Nadu Police in Nagercoil for allegedly assisting the protests against the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant (KKNPP) and deported from the country in the wee hours of Tuesday.
Sonnteg Reiner Hermann (49) was picked up on Monday in Nagercoil by Q branch police officials monitoring the anti-KNPP protests after they were alerted by central intelligence agencies, police sources said.
Mr. Hermann was brought to Chennai in the night for interrogation and was deported from the international terminal of the Chennai airport at around 1 a.m., they said.
Keywords: Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant, KKNPP, PMANE, anti-nuke protests, German national deportation
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All I sense from all the surrounding events is that neither TN Govt nor GOI has the guts to deal with the situation. Germany is closing down all nuclear plants by 2020. Switzerland is also closing all nuclear reactors. These countries are going to harness Hydro and Solar power for the benefit of their citizens. Wind energy is widely used in Germany, The Netherlands and nordic nations. India has vast sea shore to install windmills on the sea. Gujarat and Rajasthan can provide solar energy for the whole nation. People of India, let's get away with the nuclear energy to save our future generations. Invest heavily on Solar Technology and be the Asian Leader.
UPA Government has lost the vision and leadership. Half the ministers in the cabinet are never to be seen around. Country's Health Minister is missing on the scene for few months now. There are no "Healthy India 2025" vision plans. "India Infrastructure 2025" program is all missing.
Hi Menon, : Please check the recent upload by GlobalClimateNews on youtube entitled 'The Solar Power Revolution Here Comes the Sun a documentary.
Here you will have proof that CSPs can supply all the electricity you
need for the purposes cited by you above. Also worldwide there is
rapid decentralization of power with homeowners generating their own
power with their own individual systems so there is really no need for
government supply in cases of the middleclass, business group and well
placed individuals in India who are really the mass consumers of
electricity. However the government is bent on it's dirty nuclear
agenda and will not allow even the Tata's to import the available
technology and so Tata is operating and supplying these systems to
Turkey, Africa, Bangladesh and neighboring countries. We will be left
behind with this deadly and costly uranium low efficiency nuclear
power while our neighbors will move ahead economically with free fuel
technology supplied by our Tata group!
If the GOI had any evidence of such anti-national activities by the
German individual, a lawsuit should have been lodged against him.
Deportation shows that there wasn't evidence to back up the govt's
claims.
In an energy crisis driven country, after spending millions for commissioning the plant, this type of agitations cannot be justified.The agitation is not of a natural phenomenon and it has some well strategised financial support from vested interests. The government should "monitor" all NGOs enjoying foreign aids, in any form. It is shameful to say that foreign money is flowing into the country through the NGOs for carrying out anti-national activities. If what the government says is correct?, initiate every action possible against those NGOs and expose them to the world. The role of the State Government is also not towards resolving the crisis and allowing the power plant to perform and generate power inevitably required for the country's progress. Dr Udaya Kumar's prosture even after the intervention of the former President, who happens to be an eminent nuclear scientist, is not convincing and hard to digest for anyone who loves the nation and its progress and prosperity.
Hi Angela Alvares,
Do you know how much CSP it would take to generate adequate power to run an industrial plant. CSP's could not generate enough power for Servers, computers, AC, Fan and what not in software development center much less an industrial plant. Whomever scientists are claiming this, they need to get their heads examined.
Indeed Fumashima brought a lot of attention and from pure engineering point of view, the Fukashima plant was not constructed to withstand an Earthquake, Tsunami and waves higher than 10ft because it was never predicted. Climate change forces us to think about simultaneous disasters in all types physical construction. Burning coal and fossil fuel is not going to solve that problem would it?
India needs nuclear power to meet its growth targets and povery alleviation. I am not into conspiracy theories but for fun " I could postulate that the foreign governments including US does not want India to become an economic power", so they are conspiring!
Those cite German example should note the following. Germany has announced 'planned' closure of their nuclear power plants and actual closure is in the future and one never knows if those decisions would be reversed over time. Germany purchases electricity from Eastern Europe where part of the power comes from nuclear plants and it doesn't bother Germany to buy nuke power. Perhaps Mr. Hermann should protest against German hypocrisy for a change instead of instigating people in Kudankulam. Germany is next door to Russia and has pipeline to to supply Russian natural gas to fuel its plants and economy. India has little options with natural gas. Even when renewable sources are grabbing the headlines their scale is nowhere near meeting the massive energy demands for a growing, densely country like India with limited open space suitable for solar or wind power plants. India needs all sources of power with 300 million people without electricity and rest with only partial access.
@Kocherry: Which people's movement is it? Is it all people of Kudankulam, all people of the district, all people of TN, all people of India? If we continue in this way there won't be any new plant or factory in India, because there is always some disgruntled elements who are unhappy with the project and are taken advantage of by vested interests NGOs or the opportunistic politicians - examples in hand are the Tata Nano factory in West Bengal. In democracy people have a right to protest but they also have the obligation to follow the rule of law. I think the central govt and nuclear plant authorities showed enough patience in the face of irrational and illogical protests by some 'people' in the area. After the expert review has been completed and plants have been certified to include adequate (as certified by nuclear plan experts) safeguards the protesters should call it a day. What was the German national doing with an internal Indian matter? Enough is enough!
the people protesting at the Kudamkulam must be charged with anti-
nationalism and for wasting the peoples money. The Kudankulam project
has been underway for the last 8 years and billions of dollars has
already been invested and only now the protesters feel insecure due to
the power plants. The gov. should cut the power supply to their house
and let then live in the dark for a few days. The german individual
must have been arrested for inciting unrest in India , he wants to
protest building a nuclear plant in India while 20% of his countries
energy needs comes from nuclear plants ??
Yesterday in a news item it has been mentioned in your news paper as Dr. Udyakumar" From which University did he get the degree? Is he an indian citizen or on tourist visa? Even after an assault on the Scientific team he is not arrested.
Such rubbish on foreigners aiding the Koodankulam protest. I'm 100%
Indian and totally support the anti-Koodankulam movement. Hundreds of
scientifically educated Indians all over the country support the cause
and the switch to gas or CSPs (Concentrated Solar Panels) such as the
ones used in Spain/Germany. Germany is now providing nuclear France
with solar powered electricity as nuclear is 40% less efficient than
gas or solar. Fuel has to be heated to very high temperatures to be
efficient and in the case of nuclear any temperature over 600 degrees
centigrade leads to a irreversible nuclear meltdown! CSPs can heat up
towers to 1600 degrees C allowing for desalination, splitting of
hydrogen (for hydrogen powered vehicles)and also for turning the
turbines for generating electricity. They are 100% safe, using free
fuel SUN, do not require expensive scientists, security,isolation
zones, masks, special safety gear and do not leave deadly wastes for our
kids. Spain is riding high with CSP power
Has the government resorted to witch hunting? A scared government will
only resort to such use of intelligence resources to spy on activists.
This tendency to equate anti-nuclear, environmental struggles to anti-
nationalism is the most deplorable. The UPA government has touched new
lows in accusing citizens of India just because they have a different
view of development.
If GOI has deported any German under the pretext of aiding Anti-
Koodankulam nuclear movement, there should be a case against GOI. The
German should be kept here for a trial for anti national activity and
violation of FCRA law of the country. It is like the case against the
Italians who killed the two fishermen in Kerala waters. Deportation is
not a solution. It is only maligning the anti-Kudankulam Movement. It
is a peoples movement like the movement of Vialappinsala against
Trivandrum City Waste.
The media,incuding The Hindu, is giving unnecessary publicity to Kudamkulam protestors,making that Udayakumar a hero.
The state government seems to have no intenstion to solve the problem which people of Tamilnadu facing with the very unususal continued power cuts. They should try to put an end to the protest by taking sincere and serious action against the protestors for preventing the Kudamkulam project to commision. If this is not done, then in future, we cannot see any progressive development will comeup in Tamilmadu. The thugs will take Law into their hands and protest by announcing indefinite fasting, which is the fashion of the day especially in our Tamilnadu, which the cheap politicians will jump into support them. People of Tamilnadu should rise and try to ignore such elements. Tamil people cann't get cheated anymore.
While there is always a possibility of vested interests highjacking a genuine protest, the opacity with which the government has been leveling charges and silencing voices seems to imply that they just wish to contain the global exposure this issue has lately been gathering. I hate to see essential infrastructure and scientists associated with the project remaining unused, but the government's actions does not inspire confidence in their motives.
Can udyakumar tell what is the need for a German in Kudankulam....?
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