nuclear-news

Tough opposition in India against nuclear power

Activists sound alarm bells over India’s nuclear future, ABC Radio AM By Indian correspondent Richard Lindell  November 16, 2011 India’s government has predictably welcomed Prime Minister Julia Gillard’s idea that Australia open up its uranium sales, but at home, India’s plans to expand its nuclear industry continue to face tough opposition.

From Jaitapur in the west to Koodankulam in the south, locals are protesting against nuclear power plants in their backyards.Residents who fear India could be the scene of a Fukushima have clashed with police, while others have resorted to hunger strikes.

India for Nuclear Disarmament co-founder Praful Bidwai says Japan has shown the world how disastrous nuclear power can be.

“If an advanced and relatively large nuclear power state like Japan can have a nuclear catastrophe, then a backward country like India is even more likely to witness a nuclear catastrophe in the 20 reactors that we have,” he said.

“The second big lesson I think is … about the inherently hazardous nature of nuclear power generation, which is the only form of energy production anywhere on Earth which is capable of undergoing a catastrophic accident.”…..India has not made Ms Gillard’s sales job any easier.  On the day Ms Gillard announced her position on sales of uranium for peaceful purposes, India test-fired a nuclear-ready missile into international waters off the Bay of Bengal.

November 16, 2011 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | general