The anti-Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project (KKNPP) agitation has been suspended for a day on Monday “to enable people to exercise their franchise in the local body elections.”
The decision was taken in the meeting at Kudankulam on Sunday. “However, our protest will continue from October 18 at Idinthakarai where the protestors will continue their indefinite relay fast,” said S.P. Udhayakumar, convener of the anti-KKNPP struggle committee after the meeting which was largely attended by representatives of non-governmental organisations and a couple of local office-bearers of political splinter groups.
Dr. Udhyakumar said that the State government which had resolved in favour of halting construction activities at KKNPP should ensure that its Cabinet decision was honoured. “If construction activities continued at KKNPP, we will resume our struggle against the nuclear power programme with more vigour,” he said.
As per his “struggle schedule,” the indefinite relay fast would resume at Idinthakarai on October 18 with the participation of people from the southern districts of Tirunelveli, Kanyakumari and Tuticorin. Demonstrations would be staged at Kanyakumari (October 24), Chettikulam (October 31), Tuticorin (November 4) and Valliyoor (14).
On November 21, the World Fishers Day, demonstrations would be staged in the headquarters of all 13 coastal districts of Tamil Nadu, he told reporters after the meeting.
While he was announcing the decisions taken at the meeting, some of the protestors, mostly from the coastal hamlets, raised their objections saying that the one-day suspension of the struggle would have adverse impact on the protests' pace. However, they were pacified with the assurance that the struggle would be intensified until all the goals were achieved.
Following this decision, 106 persons who were on indefinite fast, gave up their hunger strike by 5 p.m.
