The People's Movement Against Nuclear Energy (PMANE) has requested the Kerala Chief Minister, Mr Oommen Chandy, to pass a resolution in the State Assembly asking the Centre to abandon the Kudankulam nuclear power plant.
Dr S.P. Udayakumar and Mr D. Pushparayan, representatives of the PMANE, were here to meet the Chief Minister and seek the cooperation of the Government as well as people of Kerala for their campaign.
KERALA IN RANGE
Speaking to newspersons here on Thursday, they said Kerala, lying within 70 km in aerial distance from the project site, has much at stake in regard to safety aspects of the nuclear plant.
“We have been opposing the plant ever since it was conceived in the mid-1980s. The reactors are being set up without sharing the environmental impact assessment, site evaluation study and safety analysis report with the people,” they said.
No public hearing has been conducted for the first two reactors either. The project has been imposed on an uninformed and unwilling population, throwing all democratic precepts and values to the winds, they said.
The people of Tamil Nadu and Kerala have reason to be deeply concerned about safety and well-being as the nuclear plant reactors pose grave and serious threats.
REACTOR SITING
The actual siting of the reactors, the quality of construction and the pipe work, and the overall integrity of the plant structures have all been called into question by the very workers and contractors who work at the site.
It is pertinent to point out that the Kudankulam plants No 1 and No 2 are also violating the Coastal Regulation Zone stipulations.
Recently, the Environment Appraisal Committee of the Ministry of Environment and Forests has refused environment permission for reactors No 3 to No 6. Reactors 1 and 2 have not gone through such a process, Dr Udayakumar said.
“Many political leaders and bureaucrats try to reassure us that there would be no natural disasters in the Kudankulam area. How can anyone ever know that there may not be any such calamity?
TSUNAMI IMPACT
“The 2004 December tsunami did flood the plant installations. There was also a mild tremor in the surrounding regions on March 19, 2006.
“On August 12 this year, tremors were felt in seven districts of Tamil Nadu. In fact, the increasing ground water depletion in Tirunelveli and other districts might trigger more tremors in the State.
“These happenings heighten our anxiety,” Dr Udayakumar and Mr Pushparayan said.
Meanwhile, the anti-Kudankulam movement has found support and solidarity from environmental activists and groups in Kerala.
SOLIDARITY IN KERALA
They have decided to hold a one-day fast in front of the Government Secretariat here on Tuesday next to invite the Government's attention to act in the matter.
Apart from pressing the Government to pass a resolution in the Assembly, they are also planning to meet the Chief Minister, the Leader of Opposition and various political leaders during these days.
Among those spoke to the presspersons were Mr N. Subrahmanian, Mr C.R. Neelakantan, Mr T. Peter, Mr K. Ramachandran, Mr Geo Jose, Mr Rasaq Paleri and Mr M. N. Giri.