Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK) general secretary Vaiko met Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy and Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala on Saturday and sought the State government’s support for the party’s campaign against the proposed India-based Neutrino Observatory (INO) at Theni.
“INO will prove disastrous to Idukki and Theni districts in Kerala and Tamil Nadu,” he said. Mr. Vaiko had approached Leader of the Opposition V.S. Achuthanandan and also called upon environmentalists including Medha Patkar to join the fight against the project.
The project site was in the most degraded portion of the Suruli Shear Zone, an active seismic zone. There were about 12 dams in a 50-km radius, Mr. Vaiko said.
The annual loss of water due to the project was estimated to be about 15 per cent of the total active storage of the Mullaperiyar reservoir, from which the INO would draw 400 cu m of water each day. As per an environment impact assessment report, about 40 per cent of the area to be impacted due to the NIO was in Kerala, he said.
“There was another proposal to dump wastes from nuclear plants across the country at the INO site,” he said.
Mr. Vaiko accused the Centre of turning a blind eye to the plight of people living in the area. “The government hastened to sanction Rs.1,500 crore for the project ahead of the arrival of U.S. President Barack Obama. It was now allotting another Rs.6,000 crore,” he said. Mr. Chennithala said the Chief Minister would direct the State Pollution Control Board (PCB) to study the issue. “The issues that Mr. Vaiko raised are relevant. We will have to study the points,” he said.
The restoration of the Shembagavalli dam, on the Kerala-Tamil Nadu border, also figured in the 30-minute discussions.
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