Kolkata’s solar energy policies going ahead
Solar heaters a must for Kolkata highrises Suman Chakraborti, TNN | Sep 17, 2012, KOLKATA: Civic bodies of Kolkata, Howrah, Durgapur and Siliguri are bringing some provisions in the building by-laws, which will make installation of solar water heaters in all multi storied commercial establishments, including hospitals and five-star hotels, mandatory.that the state government came out with earlier this year.
Representatives from the ministry of new and renewable energy (MNRE) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) are coming to the city on September 29 to meet the officials of these four civic bodies. where this matter will be looked into.
Officials of the New Town Kolkata Development Authority (NKDA) and West Bengal Renewable Energy Development Agency (WBREDA) will also attend the meeting.
It may be noted that the state has already come out with the renewable energy policy this year. …. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata/Solar-heaters-a-must-for-Kolkata-highrises/articleshow/16428464.cms
Inadequate safety plans for Kudankulam nuclear reactors
India’s Judiciary creates scam over Kudankulam The Canadian, 17 SEPTEMBER 2012“……In the name of nation and national interests they protect the rich and multinationals and want the common people also support that. Recent disclosures from a special official safety review on all Russian reactor designs reveal their several generic flaws, including inadequate emergency cooling, poor evacuation procedures, and non-factoring of earthquake hazards. The Kudankulam reactors lack an independent freshwater source, critical to cooling them in emergencies. They are probably the world’s only nuclear reactors dependent on unreliable seawater desalination, which can fail and has no backup. The Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) approved the fuel-loading despite all this and without the mandatory emergency evacuation drill in a 16-km radius. AERB approval is NPCIL’s clinching justification for fuel-loading. The AERB “has no rule-making powers.” It never fulfilled the mandate to prepare an overall nuclear and radiation safety policy.
It has failed to develop as many as 27 of the 168 Standards, Codes and Guides it itself termed essential. It has no role in radiological surveillance and monitoring workers’ health. It doesn’t directly oversee on-site emergency drills. The AERB doesn’t even possess a full inventory of nuclear materials and radiation sources. It has no framework for decommissioning nuclear plants……. http://www.agoracosmopolitan.com/news/intrnational/2012/09/17/4465.html
People of Kudankalam’s petition to stop nuclear power plant
The petition said the Government had also absolved the Russian supplier of the nuclear reactor from any liability in case of an accident. And Russia has already stated that it not responsible for any nuclear blasts.
India’s Judiciary creates scam over Kudankulam The Canadian, 17 SEPTEMBER 2012 ……….When the Indian government Regime Targets People.
The Indian regime, committed to the welfare of the people is interested only in promoting the nuclear and other arms merchants and is threatening the people with impending nuclear disasters.
One has no idea as to how many more nukes India wants and for what, because it has already plenty of weapons of mass destruction at various sites. Madras High court and Supreme court seem not worried about the deadly risks involved in the state nuke manufacturing agenda. Both High CA private company’s employee moved the Supreme Court against a Madras High Court order giving the green signal to the commissioning of the Kudankulam nuclear power plant in Tamil Nadu. Continue reading
Indian govt’s harsh crackdown on anti nuclear protesors
India: Government crushes nuclear protests http://www.globalpost.com/dispatches/globalpost-blogs/india/india-nuclear-protests 14 Sept 12, Nuclear projects in India can only be thrust on unwilling citizens at gunpoint, writes activist Praful Bidwai In the wake of police firing that killed one of the many Indians protesting against the Kudankulam nuclear power plant in Tamil Nadu, activist Praful Bidwai lays it into the government that not long back was hailed for its groundbreaking civilian nuclear agreement with George W. Bush.
“The repression, including lethal firing, unleashed on peaceful protesters against the Kudankulam nuclear plant on Monday, on top of FIRs over many months charging thousands with sedition, makes two things clear. Nuclear projects in India can only be thrust on unwilling citizens at gunpoint. [And] as the jalsatyagraha (water civil disobedience) shows, people will resist them tenaciously, because they are aware of their hazards,” Bidwai writes in India’s Hindustan Times newspaper .
As GlobalPost reported last year, a massive nuclear project planned for Jaitapur, Maharashtra, has also faced large protests.
Casual readers and the government dismisses these protests as the work of ignorant villagers and eco-radical agitators (as demonstrated by the claim that the opposition can be traced to various “foreign-funded” NGOs).
But Bidwai points out that every single nuclear project India has planned has spurred committed resistance:
“That’s true of every nuclear project, whether Jaitapur (Maharashtra), Gorakhpur (Haryana), Mithi-Virdi (Gujarat), Kovvada (Andhra Pradesh), Haripur (West Bengal), Chutka (Madhya Pradesh) or Banswada (Rajasthan). For instance, at Gorakhpur, there has been a daily dharna against four proposed reactors for two years, unbeknownst to Delhi, which lies in their potential radiation-fallout zone,” he writes.
And when some 100 activists met in Delhi this August, nobody listened to their reservations about the Kudankulam project, which Bidwai says “was cleared in violation of the recommendations of an official Task Force, and without even the fig leaf of an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report.”
Now villagers, and, yes, more than a few “agitators” have walked into the sea near the reactor, in imitation of a protest against the flooding of villages in Gujarat earlier this month.
They might be wrong. The government says Kudankulam is safe. Coal isn’t without its dangers. And the huge number of hydropower projects planned for Northeast India will destroy cultures and wildlife in one of the country’s last remaining wilderness areas. (Personally, I was sold on nuclear after visiting Arunachal Pradesh for this series on dams–if the government can proceed responsibly).
But it is foolishness bordering on the criminal to undertake such projects on the assurances of company insiders and circumvent the environmental clearance regime, as Bidwai and others say has been done for nuclear plants, and other environmental activists say is routinely done for big dams, coal mines, and every sort of industrial activity.
And it’s bad politics simply to dismiss those claims because of some hidebound commitment to the ideology of economic growth.
India’s peaceful anti nuclear campaign now facing terror and repression
A regime that hates common masses and uses them only as vote bank can do anything to make the rich and multinationals terribly happy
Indian regime has already exhausted all techniques and tricks to malign, terrorize the people of Kudankulam.
India’s Kudankulam Nuclear Terror threatens Jal-Satyagraha http://www.agoracosmopolitan.com/news/editorial/2012/09/14/4450.html 14 SEPTEMBER 2012 : BY DR. ABDUL RUFF Gandhian method of struggle still has relevance for India which fought against the British occupation for centuries. In fact the Indian regime is not happy about protesters using non-violent protests against a government that employed as its prime tool of attack on Britain.
Defying security presence, Kudankulam protesters have entered sea for a Sea water Protest , or Jal Satyagraha, signalling that the not only the people of Kudankulam, especially the fishermen and families angry with central India and Tamilnadu regimes, but even the Sea itself is annoyed with an nuclear extra terror fitting on its shores..
Upon state murder of one fisherman in Kudankulam vicinity, the protesting masses have decided to continue the movement through relaunching the struggle by getting into the sea. Protesters have formed human chain in sea from Sep 13, 2012. Continue reading
India’s nuclear heavies will “enlighten the masses”
I was so fascinated by this little article: I have coloured my favourite phrases in red.
Summit to allay fears on Kundakulam, Jaitapur nuclear plants Times of India B Sridhar, TNN Sep 13, 2012, JAMSHEDPUR: The innocent misguided people opposing the likes of Kundakulam nuclear power plant in Tamil Nadu and Jaitapur nuclear power plant in Maharashtra will be in focus in the global Nuclear Energy Summit scheduled to be held in Mumbai on September 25.
The summit to be organized by the department of atomic energy (DAE) will witness domestic and foreign nuclear producing company’s representatives discuss the various misconceptions and misinformation about the nuclear energy plants in a comprehensive manner.
“The summit will immensely help in allaying the fears related to the operation of the nuclear energy plants in India,” said
Jamshedpur-based Uranium Corporation of India Ltd (UCIL) spokesperson Atul Bajpai.
The UCIL will have 15 panels at the summit venue that will largely be informative in nature aimed at enlightening the common masses about the effective and sustainable uranium exploration measures the premier public enterprise is practicing over the years…..
Atomic Energy Commission chairman R K Sinha, Atomic Energy Nuclear Board vice-chairman S Duraisamy, nuclear specialist, Lisega Inc (US) Bob Fandetti and chief executive, French Nuclear Industry Association, Henri Chapotot are among those who will take part in the summit to be held at the Mumbai Exhibition Center.
Growth of India’s solar energy, grid parity by 2014
Solar power catching up with conventional energy http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/solar-power-catching-upconventional-energy/186748/on Cost of solar power may equal to that of conventional energy by 2014: Study Devjyot Ghoshal / New Delhi Sep 14, 2012, If India’s conventional power sector, particularly coal-based thermal power projects, has found itself squarely stuck under the long shadow of governmental inefficiencies and suspect allocation mechanisms, there is a drastically different story unfolding in the country’s solar energy sector. Continue reading
Anti-Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project protest goes national
KKNPP protest will be taken up at national level: Kejriwal THE HINDU 12 Sept 12, The ongoing anti-Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project protest will be taken up at the national level with more vigour, former member of ‘Team Anna’ Arvind Kejriwal, said on Wednesday.
Mr. Kejriwal, who came to Idinthakarai on Tuesday night to express solidarity with the ongoing protest, told reporters here that he was fully supporting the protest being led by anti-KKNPP struggle committee convener S.P. Udayakumar, who should not surrender to the police.
‘India Against Corruption’ would wholeheartedly endorse his stance in this agitation and take it to the national level. He warned that there would be disastrous consequences if the KKNPP reactor was allowed to attain criticality without ensuring adequate water source. There should be an open debate on the KKNPP by involving experts from the government and protestors’ side so that the public understood the facts pertaining to nuclear power programmes.
The United Progressive Alliance government was trying to hastily take the KKNPP reactor to criticality even as several safety concerns remained unanswered, he said.
He visited a few houses at Tsunami Colony which were allegedly damaged by the police after the Monday clash. Mr. Kejriwal claimed he wanted to file a police complaint in this connection, and came to the Kudankulam police station in the afternoon, but could not do so as there was no senior police official present.
Speaking to reporters in front of the police station, Mr. Kejriwal alleged that the police had ransacked a few houses and arrested even a 16-year-old boy from Vairaavikinaru village after the protest. “We’re not against development as we need power and other better infrastructure. But you cannot bulldoze the people in the name of development. The police should show their loyalty only to the nation and not to the government,” said Mr. Kejriwal.
http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article3888410.ece
Riot police attack Kudankulam anti nuclear protestors
Indian riot police attack 4000 nuclear protesters, Examiner SLIDESHOW SEPTEMBER 10, 2012 BY: DEBORAH DUPRE Saturday and Sunday, Indian riot police opened fire one group and assaulted thousands of others with tear gas, mainlywomen and children on the beach protesting Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project (KNPP), the country’s largest nuclear power facility, due to fire up soon. By late Sunday, there was one dead and many injured as police began rampaging homes of protesters.
“A large riot-gear bedecked police force is in the frontline facing the people, and tear gas lobbers are apparently on stand-by,” a human rights defender informed Counter Currents Sunday morning.
“Police are intimidating people by moving closer, swaying batons,” Dr. S P Udayakumar at the scene texted in an SMS at 11:30 a.m. “Thousands of women and children are here. Officials threatened with naval intervention. Situation is very tense and dangerous. We need your appeals to the governments.”
Police shoot dead an anti nuclear fisherman in Southern India
One killed in India nuclear plant protest http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/breaking-news/one-killed-in-india-nuclear-plant-protest/story-e6frf7k6-1226471469932 From: Herald Sun, AFP September 11, 2012 POLICE have shot dead a fisherman during a mass protest against the loading of uranium at a nuclear power plant in southern India.
Steel-helmeted officers ringed one of two 1000-megawatt nuclear reactors in Tamil Nadu state’s Koodankulam region as hundreds of activists tried to lay a siege of the Russia-backed project, television footage showed.
The protests then spread and a 48-year-old fisherman was killed when police opened fire at activists staging another rally in the nearby Tuticorin district, according to a report by the Press Trust of India.
“A number of people including police personnel have received injuries in the clashes,” another officer said while TV footage showed anti-riot personnel chase some of the activists, including women, into the nearby sea.
Monday’s violence comes six months after a lull in protests at the plant, which campaigners say could endanger the lives of locals in the case of a nuclear disaster.
The Press Trust of India said the new protests were in opposition to the loading of enriched uranium in the plant’s reactor…..
Since Fukushima, Indian activists have also campaigned to stop work scheduled to start in 2013 at Jaitapur in western Maharashtara state which would be one of the world’s biggest nuclear facilities.
Nuclear energy has been a priority for India since 2008 when then-US president George W. Bush signed into law a deal with New Delhi that ended a three-decade ban on US nuclear trade with the country.
Since then, France, Russia and private US and Japanese firms have been locked in fierce competition to sell new reactors to India.
Tense situtaion in Kudankulam, as 3,000 protest fuel loading at nuclear reactor
Tension mounts as protesters stay put near Kudankulam plant THE HINDU, P. SUDHAKAR , 9 sept 12, Tension prevailed here for about five hours on Sunday as the police thwarted a bid by about 3,000 agitators to lay siege to the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project (KKNPP) site to protest fuel-loading in the reactor. Continue reading
Safety flaws in India’s nuclear power plants
AERB detects flaws at nuclear plants Business Standard, Sanjay Jog / Mumbai Sep 04, 2012, Regulatory inspections of nuclear power plants and research facilities have revealed there have been deviation from technical specifications and other regulatory stipulations, deficiencies and degradations in safety-related systems and procedural inadequacies.
The Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB), which carried out 47 regulatory inspections, comprising 25 scheduled and 22 special inspections in 2011-12, observed there were shortcomings in safetydesign and safety support systems based on operating experience,
including generic deficiencies.
The board has made a strong case for improvement in procedures and design by the respective nuclear power plants. It observed at Narora Atomic Power Station 1 & 2, continuous monitoring of healthiness and availability of seismic trips circuits did not exist. The unavailability of this trip due to loss of power supply or discontinuity in the wiring remain unnoticed till the next surveillance test. The scheme in this regard was under AERB’s review with the designers of Nuclear Power Corporation…….http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/aerb-detects-flaws-at-nuclear-plants/485318/
Strong case against Koodankulam Nuclear Power Plant Project (KKNPP).
Several questions on safety unanswered, cry activists
http://ibnlive.in.com/news/several-questions-on-safety-unanswered-cry-activists/287345-60-118.html 2 Sept 12, N Vinoth Kumar / ENS Anti-nuclear activists have expressed disappointment over the Madras High Court’s nod for commissioning Units I and II of the Koodankulam Nuclear Power Plant Project (KKNPP).
“It is a disappointment. No questions raised by us were answered in the judgment. We will soon appeal to the Supreme Court,” said G Sundarrajan, who filed cases against the KKNPP in the High Court. Similarly, Dr V Pugazhenthi, who worked among those affected by
radiation in Kalpakkam, said, “After the Fukushima incident, a committee constituted by the Centre gave 17 recommendations to the government.
As per the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) guidelines, a nuclear plant must be commissioned only after putting in place thorough Emergency Operative Procedures (EOP).
But as per the recommendations of the committee, it has given an assurance that the EOP can be finalised six months after the nuclear plant is commissioned. This is a complete violation.”
He has also alleged holes in the safety assessment of the KKNPP. “The expert panel on the KKNPP — headed by Prof Muthunayagam— said that there are no chances of a ‘Near Field Tsunami’ in the region. It also did not acknowledge the possibility of ‘slumps’, the under-sea
phenomenon that causes a tsunami. But, after we put out our report indicating the presence of such slumps, they modified their report. As per international norms, if any slump is found, its chemical composition must be studied.
The expert panel did not consider this,” Dr Pugazhenthi said. Dr Ramesh, a member of the fact-finding team on the mock drill held in Nakkaneri, alleged, “The final request made to the State was the conduct of an emergency preparedness drill. The claim that such a drill was conducted in Nakkaneri is a blatant lie.”
People’s Expert Committee member M G Devasahayam said there was ample evidence to support the case against the KKNPP. “The documents against the KKNPP are formidable and factual,” he said.
People’s Movement Against Nuclear Energy will take anti nuclear fight to Supreme Court
People’s Movement Against Nuclear Energy to appeal in apex court
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/madurai/Peoples-Movement-Against-Nuclear-Energy-to-appeal-in-apex-court/articleshow/16097343.cms TNN | Sep 1, 2012, MADURAI: People’s Movement Against Nuclear Energy (PMANE) had decided to appeal in the Supreme Court against the Madras high court verdict giving the go ahead for the Kudankulam nuclear plant. PMANE coordinator S P Udayakumar, expressing disappointment over the verdict said that the high court judgment will be challenged in theapex court. “We will continue our fight for justice,” he said.
Villagers of Idinthakarai village wore a dejected look as the information about the judgment by a bench comprising Justices P Jyothimani and M Duraiswamy dismissing the batch of petitions against Kudankulam nuclear plant reached them. The villagers have been protesting against the nuclear plant for more than a year. Besides rallies and slogan shouting, the villagers were on a relay fast for the past several months.
“We had placed all our hope on the high court. Now, the only recourse for us is the Supreme Court. We will approach the Supreme Court,” said Udayakumar.
Court sanctions Kudankulam nuclear plant, but PMANE will not give up the fight
Our struggle against the plant will continue,” said SP Udayakumar, convenor, People’s Movement Against Nuclear Energy, which has been at the forefront of the anti-plant protest
Kudankulam plant gets HC nod; activists protest , Hindustan Times Chennai, August 31, 2012 The Madras high court on Friday gave all-clear to the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project in Tirunelveli, 650km from Chennai, Continue reading
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