Centre turns down protesters’ plea for White Paper
The People’s Movement Against Nuclear Energy (PMANE) has warned that its anti-nuke protestors would lay siege to the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project site if the Centre commissions the first two reactors in “haste and secrecy”.
A statement from PMANE said the official machinery, which had imposed artificial power cuts in the area with the ulterior motive of commissioning KKNPP early, had also filed hundreds of cases against people who were resorting to non-violent agitation against the upcoming nuclear complex.
PMANE’s warning has come in the backdrop of a senior official attached to the Union Government informing that the KKNPP would attain criticality “within a few days”.
Secrecy
“The Centre, which hanged Ajmal Kasab and Afzal Guru in secrecy, is trying to commission the KKNPP in a similar fashion. Thousands of protestors including women and children will lay siege to the nuclear complex in a non-violent fashion if the Centre commissions the first reactor in haste and secrecy,” the statement said.
The people’s movement has been unrelenting despite a good number of experts from former President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam to Central Expert Committee chairman A.E. Muthunayagam certifying the KKNPP reactors as the safest in the world with futuristic safety features.
Meanwhile, the Centre has also turned down the protestors’ plea for a White Paper by the Centre on the KKNPP and its reactors.
We will forever be supplying energy and power to the nuclear programmes ad infinitum and will be forever short of electricity. This will mean ever more nukes on Mother Earth poisoning and converting us all life into nuclear wastes. Nukes therefore economicswise and healthwise compromise our very basis of existence, rendering all the web of nature radioactive. That is why the late Chair of USNRC Dr John W Gofman remarked in 1979 itself:"There is no way I can justify my failure to help sound an alarm over these activities many years sooner than I did. I feel that at least several hundred scientists trained in biomedical aspects of atomic energy-myself included-are candidates for Nuremburg type trials for crimes against humanity for our gross negligence and irresponsibility. [But] now we know the hazards of low-dose radiation, the crime is not experimentation, it's murder."
While the whole world is turning away from Nuclear Energy,India is falling in love with this barbaric,dangerous and failed technology.India should have started to think about its Energy needs and invested money in research programs of effective renewable energy atleast ten years ago,instead of depending upon other countries on Nuke.Now at the cost of ordinary people's safety and livelihood ,Indian Government is building N-Plants.It is undemocratic,violation of human rights and dictatership to open KKNP amdst the strong protest of the people living around this plant.The Mass Evacuation Drill was not carried out,Infrastructure is poor,The Radiation Measuring Equipment not fitted, and people not familiarised with any Emergency Procedures.
It is really unfair and inhuman to put life of hundred thousand people in immediate danger for the comfort of others.
It will be interesting to see if this really is a people driven movement based on real knowledge about nuclear plant safety or is it a movement driven by some self serving individuals. However from the point of view of electrical energy demand, plants of this type are necessary. No system is completely fail safe, if the concern is genuine it is the responsibility of the government to allay such fears and convince the local population that the nuclear power plant not only generates power, it also generates jobs and economic activity. What I am afraid is that this so called popular movement, which is unreasonable, seem to fight against the development of the society and serve the interests of their masters far away.
To avoid unnecessary problems further the best possible solution is to shut down the Nuke plant and cut off coa; supplies to existing power plants in Tamil Nadu as well as to stall impoting the coal from abroad by the state government; this may well be a loss to the congress party in the state during election but its allies are ther to garner the support to establish the congress at center; at least this will be a wake up call for the rest of the people of tamil nadu to understand what will happen to them if they undertake take such foolish movements inspite of persons like Dr.A.P.J Abdul Kalam and others assuring them about the safety of the nuke plants and its usefullness; The government has to infrom firmly that if this is the way they are going to continue then future government plans for the development of the state will not be funded nor the government will allow the state government to implement developmental funds for electricity projects.
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