A rally being taken out by the Kerala Sasthra Sahitya Parishad (KSSP) from Kannur to Kudankulam expressing solidarity with the people agitating against the Kudankulam nuclear plant reached here on Tuesday.
The procession also aims at spreading a message about alternative energy sources other than nuclear energy.
On Monday, the rally, consisting of two vehicles carrying KSSP volunteers and the general public, began from Peringome in Kannur, where a nuclear plant was proposed two decades ago. The plan was dropped after widespread protests. The procession is being led by P.K. Raveendran, the former president of KSSP, who had spearheaded the protests against the nuclear plant 20 years ago.
Mr. Raveendran said that the KSSP was not completely against nuclear energy two decades ago.
The struggle was only to keep it out of Peringome. But, the studies and experiences of recent times had prompted a rethink towards zero nuclear energy, he said.
Spreading lies
“The nuclear lobby has been spreading lies that there is no other way to ensure energy security and that nuclear energy is 100 per cent safe. This includes people like Abdul Kalam, who is a space scientist and not in anyway connected to nuclear energy. If it is perfectly safe, why are the companies providing the technology being made liable in case of an accident? This is proof that the technology is not foolproof. The environment impact assessment report of the plant has also not been made available to the public yet,” said Mr. Raveendran.
He said that the judiciary should not be the final authority on the operation of the plant at Kudankulam. The State had been mercilessly suppressing a legitimate struggle of the people for survival. The plant would also put a question mark over the livelihood of local residents, as fishing would become almost impossible. It was important that this struggle should succeed as it would send a strong message to the government which was trying to implement unsafe and untested nuclear technology at Jaitapur and elsewhere, he added.
Mohamed Shafi, professor at the Calicut University and a member of the KSSP, said that reducing the distribution losses in the power distribution systems by upgrading technology could save more power than that could be created from nuclear energy.
The procession and the public meeting at the bus stand attracted public attention and most of the assembled stayed back till the end of the campaign. A pamphlet ‘Abandon Kudankulam project’ distributed at the function lists the various safety issues associated with the project.
The procession will conclude at Kudankulam on September 29. The organisers, however, expressed doubts if they would be allowed to cross the Kerala border as two similar processions were blocked at the border the past week.
