There is absolutely no doubt that there is an urgent need to follow the path of sustainable development, especially in the context of climate change (“ Expensive, hazardous and inequitable ”, June 7). But the approval of 10 nuclear power plants by the government raises many concerns and questions, a major one being the risk factor. We honestly know that Japan is leaps and bounds ahead of us in terms of infrastructure and technology but even then was unable to deal with Fukushima. If this is the case with a country such as Japan, how will our country, so highly populated, deal with even a small disaster? There are also questions regarding the viability of nuclear power plants. India is very lucky being a tropical country and with abundant sunshine. There is huge potential for solar energy production. Hydroelectric power has also not been fully tapped. There is also wind energy. If there is a concerted effort to tap renewable sources of energy, there would not be a need to try out risky and expensive energy sources such as nuclear energy.
Karan Choudhary,
Pathankot, Punjab
