nuclear-news

Workers inside Kudankulam Nuclear project to leave by Dec 15

Siege of Kudankulam Nuclear plant called off IBN Live 11 Dec 11, Chennai: The day-long siege at the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant (KNPP) in Tirunelveli district on Saturday by around 1,500 villagers has been called off on the assurance that the workers and others inside the project campus would be vacated by Dec 15, said an activist.

“The district collector and other officials assured us that the workers and employees of Larsen and Toubro Ltd living inside the project campus would be asked to leave by December 15. Based on this assurance, we called off our siege,” S Sivasubramanian, coordinator of the People’s Rights Movement, an organisation fighting for the plant’s closure, told….
There have been widespread protests against the two 1,000 MW nuclear
power reactors that the NPCIL is building with Russian technology and
equipment at Kudankulam, around 650 km from here.
The project cost is estimated to come up at Rs.13,171 crore.
Villagers fear for their lives and safety in case of any nuclear
accident and the long-term impact it would have on the population.
They had earlier laid siege to the plant Oct 13 and did not allow
anyone to go in. The state government had asked NPCIL officials to
keep away till the situation normalised.
However, as the trial run – technically called hot run – of the first
unit was over, the NPCIL said it was carrying out essential
maintenance work so that the equipments do not fail or the reactor and
pipelines do not rust due to stagnant coolant water.
The agitation has put a stop to the project work, thereby delaying the
commissioning of the first unit by several months.
In order to allay the fears of the public, the central and the state
governments have formed two separate committees. The state panel
includes representatives of the People’s Movement Against Nuclear
Energy (PMANE) that spearheads the protest.
Meanwhile, the central government appointed 15-member expert panel is
likely to meet Dec 13 at Kanyakumari to discuss its responses to the
issues raised by protestors and people. The central panel is expected
to meet the state panel Dec 15….
http://ibnlive.in.com/news/siege-of-kudankulam-nuclear-plant-called-off/210715-62-128.html

December 12, 2011 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | India, opposition to nuclear