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Politicians join community protest against Jaitapur nuclear plant

The power plant will endanger the health of those living along the Konkan coast and it will also destroy agriculture”….”The government should not think that it can gag the public.”……

Sena joins ‘people’s war’ against Jaitapur N-plant, The Times of India, Ambarish Mishra,  Dec 7, 2010, MUMBAI: Adding muscle to the ongoing agitation, the Shiv Sena has also joined in the protest against the nuclear power plant proposed to be set up at Jaitapur in the coastal Konkan belt.

Under the deal—likely to be inked by French President Nicolas Sarkozy’s visit to India—a 9,900-MW plant is supposed to come up in Ratnagiri in collaboration with French firm Areva.

And, this power plant has assumed a political power-centric image, with the Sena, stepping in to “save the fishing village”. On Monday, Sena CEO Uddhav Thackeray announced that his party would oppose the nuclear plant on the grounds of ecology conservation and loss of livelihood.
The Sena, which covets Konkan as its electoral stronghold, has decided to take on Congress minister Narayan Rane who, too, has a base in the region. In fact, Rane’s— as well as the Sena’s—trysts with Konkan now hinge on their skills to ride the popular ire against the plant, say political observers. Incidentally, the Sena’s Lalbaug-Parel bastion is populated with Gavada Marathas and OBCs, who belong to the Konkan belt.
The protest against the proposed plant, which is being spearheaded by the Konkan Bachao Samiti and the Konkan Vinashkari Prakalpa Virodhi Samiti, has been going on for long. ….
Tagging the Jaitapur agitation “people’s war”, Thackeray said, “The proposed power plant is a threat to life and ecology. The power plant will endanger the health of those living along the Konkan coast and it will also destroy agriculture”. Taking a dig at the Union environment ministry, Thackeray said, “The ministry happily cites laws to reject proposals for the re-development of koliwadas where poor fishermen live. However, rules are bent to please the mighty and the powerful. The Jaitapur nuclear power plant is a case in point.”

Condemning the police  in charge at the demonstration, he said, “The government should not think that it can gag the public.”……

Sena joins ‘people’s war’ against Jaitapur N-plant – The Times of India

December 7, 2010 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | India, politics