Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) V. Narayanasamy on Tuesday met those protesting for the past 10 days against the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project (KKNPP) and assured them that the safety and security of the people were paramount.
“People's safety first and power generation comes later,” he told them at Idinthakarai in Tirunelveli district.
Mr. Narayanasamy was deputed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to meet the agitators and allay fears in the minds of people that arose after the Fukushima radiation disaster in Japan in March.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa had written to Dr. Singh about the need for the Centre to address these apprehensions.
Mr. Narayanasamy, on his way to Kudankulam from Madurai, had a preliminary discussion here with Collector R. Selvaraj along with Chairman of the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) Shreyans Kumar Jain to ascertain the situation at Idinthakarai.
Emerging from the meeting, the Minister told journalists that the safety and security of those living close to the project site was more important than power generation. To break the impasse and arrive at an early solution, a meeting between the protesters and the Prime Minister could also be arranged, said Mr. Narayanasamy.
The Minister plans to meet Ms. Jayalalithaa in Chennai on Wednesday.
Additional Secretary in the Department of Atomic Energy A.B. Joshi; Director (Projects), NPCIL, K.C. Purohit; Site Director, KKNPP, M. Kasinath Balaji; Deputy Inspector General of Police, Tirunelveli Range, V. Varadharaju; MPs S.S. Ramasubbu and S. Thangavelu; and Superintendent of Police, Tirunelveli, Vijayendra S. Bidari participated in the meeting.
When revenue officials invited the protesters' representatives to meet Mr. Narayanasamy in the evening, the public at the protest venue turned down the proposal, saying they could not send their representatives within 10 minutes and instead the Minister should meet the protesters at the fast venue.
As the Minister came to the venue later, he was not allowed to speak. Instead, coordinator of the protest S.P. Udhayakumar submitted a memorandum to Mr. Narayanasamy, which stated that the KKNPP, which was established “without getting public opinion, without holding proper field tests and environment impact assessment trials, should be scrapped”.
The Minister assured the public that their appeal would be considered as “the people's safety comes first and power generation later.”
Asked whether he would recommend halting of the work at the KKNPP, Mr. Narayanasamy said it would be decided by the Prime Minister.
Though the protesters could get this assurance from the Minister, they plan to continue their agitation as they complain that the State government had not extended a proper invitation for talks to end the agitation and thereby bringing back normality in the hamlets around Kudankulam.
Representatives of the protesters have decided to meet Ms. Jayalalithaa on Wednesday.
There is a lot of misinformation and FUD floating around regarding all things nuclear.People who claim that in case of accident the area has to be abandoned for 100s of years should go visit Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The city has been rebuilt, right up to ground-0, all areas are accessible. Even in case of Chernobyl, it took manual override of all safety mechanisms and a faulty design to cause the accident.Why is it that nobody blinks an eye when living around badly managed, built & run chemical plants? Coal mines or indeed thermal electric plants when the effects of fly ash pollution are so well known?Compared to all of these, Nuclear is very safe and clean source of power. Even after Fukushima.
Advanced countries like Germany have started to shut down their nuclear plants. India if not shut down, should atleast not build new N plants.A single wind mill can produce upto 7 MW. A single Kalpakkam reactor is 220 MW. In other words (30 Enercon high capacity wind mills are equivalent to a N reactor). The equation is simple.
Hi Vedam, Totally unwarranted and irrevelant comment.
This is true that Nuclear Power can help us to reduce the crisis of electricity in the nation but we never ignore that any type of hazards like Earthquake or Tsunami, can be the cause of millions death.
In USA, the protocol for safety concerning the Nuclear Power (NP) plants runs into some 40,000 pages. The Disasters in Chernobyl in Russia & Fukushima in Japan have shown that we have to go a long way in fulfilling the safety parameters in respect of Nuclear Power Plants (NPP's). France is the only country to generate more than 60% of its needs from Nuclear Energy. Ever since the Indo - US Nuclear deal was even mooted, there has a spin doctoring of astronomical proportions about the need to build NPP's. Two such spin are that we are the lowest cost producer of NP @ $ 1.75 billions per MW & the only country to use Thorium!! Facts to be remembered are i) in 60 years, India has added only 4000+ MW's of Nuclear Installed Capacity, ii) GOI plans to add 63,000 MW's in the next 30 years!, iii) we have enough coal to last for the next 150 years even @ ONE Billion Tonnes consumption/year, iv) We need to ensure that the Coal is cleaned by Sequestration Procedures to lessen pollution!!
What is the use of going ahead with such highly risk prone installations to generate power to meet the requirements of the people when we cannot have in place any 100% fool proof measures to guard against irreparable losses and protect the lives of the same people to enjoy the power so generated due to unexpected mishaps in future like the Chernobyl calamity? While even countries like Japan that are known for their alacrity to have perfect safety measures particularly in Nuclear installations have miserably failed to meet with the contingency effectively, we who are known for our callous attitude even in contingency planning can never take such a huge risk which would result in nothing but total annihilation of humanity. Our unpreparedness to meet the requirements on a war footing in the recently earth quake affected areas bear ample witness to this.
Safety first power generation later is tactical way of saying "I surrender" The quota-loving regime ruling India has become spineless and toothless. It has become "weak for the strong" and "strong to the weak." And India has become a saleable commodity. Yet the people divided on caste and religious lines bring these Quota monster politicians back to power. Some never learn.
Safety first, power generation comes later: Narayanasamy ..... in a typical politician style.I still remember Jayalaitha ordered to dispose all the dye industrial wastes in sea. What kind of knowledge these politicians have about radiation safety and the impact of toxic chemicals on environment?
All this talk about safety first is only posturing. The Central govt. which is completely sold on the idea of nuclear power and in the grip of the international nuclear business lobbies is only interested in pushing their agenda. Does our PM who is a champion of corporates have the guts to put this nuclear project on hold? If an accident happens in 200 years will he be around to face the music? As is clear world over, nuclear power plant mishaps do not give you a second chance. You have to just abandon the place for 100s of generations. Is this price worth paying? All these questions need answers before we just pop up nuclear power plants all over the country especially when the industraliased world is shutting them down. Our leaders need to be leaders not side-kicks of industrial lobbies.
Having laid low by one political disconfiture after another, the Prime Minister seems to have realised that there is a world other than the corporate world and that people have concerns other than those about GDP growth and energy security. However expressing fine sentiments like "safety first, power generation comes later" will not be enough to erase people's apprehensions about their safety when nuclear power plants sprout all over the country.
What is the use of going ahead with such highly risk prone installations to generate power to meet the requirements of the people when we cannot have in place any 100% fool proof measures to guard against irreparable losses and protect the lives of the same people to enjoy the power so generated due to unexpected mishaps in future like the Chernobyl calamity? While even countries like Japan who are known for their alacrity to have perfect safety measures in Nuclear installations have miserably failed to meet with the contingency effectively, we who are known for our callous attitude even in contingency planning can never take such a huge risk which would result in nothing but total annihilation of humanity. Our unpreparedness to meet the requirements on a war footing in the recently earth quake affected areas bear witness to this.
The protests at Kudankulam is politically motivated and stands as a hinderance to nation's progress. While safety & security of those living around the nuclear plant has to be of utmost importance, comparing the situation with Fukushima reactor in Japan is unfounded. The so called social activists and organisations involved in this protests are with vested interests, thereby diverting the attention of public to worthless activities. India should ignore such 'weeds' in its progress and should deal such activists with an iron hand.
Perhaps, the protesters are worried about safety after the recent happenings in Japan. It is also likely that they are being instigated by NGOs and activists in keeping with their one-track agenda of stopping progress. But the issue the state government, GOI and Russian builders do not wish to comment on is that the Russian suppliers do NOT carry any liability for mishaps. For reasons best known to it, while the GOI talks tough with western companies on nuclear mishap liability, it keeps mum in this case. Russia keeps on repeating parrot-like that it is the best plant and there is nothing to be afraid on -- in that case, why are they shirking from taking liability?
It is better to stop all nuclear projects in India right now than destroy the country as the costs to be paid with human lives and destruction of the economy. This is quite evident in the Fukushima crisis as TEPCO, the major power utility in Japan had assured the residents of Fukushima of the absolute safety of their plants from earthquakes as well as Tsunamis. Now, the lives of all the residents are at stake and the economy is in tatters. The people protesting against nuclear energy are very courageous and must be supported by all Indians. The world over Fukushima has become a byword for crisis and destruction. There is no limit to Man's arrogance but Nature will teach us a very costly lesson.
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