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Tamil Nadu officials lie – pretense of an emergency drill near Koodankulam Nuclear Power Plant (KKNPP)

‘Kudankulam nuclear plant faked emergency drill’ Chennai:  IBN Live, Tamil Nadu | Jul 08, 2012  The official claim of having conducted a mandatory three-stage emergency drill at Nakkaneri hamlet, situated within 7 km from the Koodankulam Nuclear Power Plant (KKNPP) in Tirunelveli district, on June 9 was termed ‘a blatant lie’ by the People’s Union of Civil Liberties (PUCL), which sent a fact-finding team to the place on June 13 and 20, after the villagers denied the version of the authorities.

No drill was conducted and the people of Nakkaneri were surprised to read about it in the newspapers the next day, the PUCL said, and accused the district administration of spreading falsehood through the media.
Announcing the findings in Chennai on Saturday, the team members said that they spoke to 22 people, including senior citizens and panchayat officials, and learnt that on June 9, a team of about 40 policemen had landed at the village, blocking the roads and checking a few vehicles before dispersing in the evening.
The next day, a press note was released saying an offsite emergency drill was held successfully in Nakkaneri. PUCL national secretary P Suresh said that the offsite emergency preparedness exercise was mandatory to get clearance from the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) to load fuel into the reactor….
http://ibnlive.in.com/news/kudankulam-plant-faked-emergency-drill/270033-62-128.html

July 9, 2012 Posted by | India, secrets,lies and civil liberties | Leave a comment

Radiation incident at Rawatbhata atomic power station in Rajasthan

Two suffer radioactive exposure at Rawatbhata atomic power station, The Hindu, 29 June 12,  Two workers of the Rawatbhata atomic power station in Rajasthan are under observation after they were found to have been exposed to radioactive tritium vapour beyond the permissible limit.

The incident took place on June 23 at Unit 5 when a modification work was on during a routine biennial shutdown…. A report on the NPCIL website said the incident occurred due to an “inadvertent” rise in tritium levels in a localised area of the containment building of
reactor-5. “The localised increase in the tritium [in turn] occurred due to the opening of the moderator cover gas line, where welding jobs were to be performed.”
http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article3585956.ece

June 30, 2012 Posted by | incidents, India | Leave a comment

Thorium nuclear reactors not possible for decades to come

India needs to wait for few decades to use thorium in reactor DNA, , Jun 27, 2012, Bhubaneswar PTI Describing India as self-reliant in nuclear technology, Atomic Energy Commission on Wednesday said the country has to wait for a few more decades to use thorium as the base for nuclear reactors.

“Using thorium as the base for reactors will take time. We have to wait a few decades to make it possible,” Atomic Energy Commission Chairman R K Sinha said….. Replying a question on the possible use of thorium as the base for the nuclear reactors, he said the country needs to wait…..

June 28, 2012 Posted by | business and costs, India, Uranium | Leave a comment

Bank assists Indian village communities by providing solar power

Using solar energy to create viable livelihoods The Hindu, V. K. RAKESH REDDY , 22 June 12, Andhra Pragathi Grameena Bank uses a centrally-sponsored scheme for people in Obulapuram and surrounding villages

The sun, which is the one resource that is abundant in Anantapur district, is creating viable livelihoods for the poor of Anantapur district with visionary banking by the Andhra Pragathi Grameena Bank (APGB). Continue reading →

June 23, 2012 Posted by | decentralised, India | Leave a comment

public Interest petition against Jaitapur nuclear plant withdrawn, for now.

PIL against Jaitapur plant withdrawn http://www.hindustantimes.com/India news/Mumbai/PIL-against-Jaitapur-plant-withdrawn/Article1-873162.aspx
HT Correspondent, Hindustan Times Mumbai, June 16, 2012 Noting that petitioners should do in-depth research before filing petitions regarding the cause and effect of projects, the Bombay high court on Friday permitted an activist to withdraw his petition against the proposed Jaitapur nuclear plant. The court was hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by Hemant Patil, activist and president of Rashtriya Brashtachar Virodhi Janshakti, raising concern over the safety of the proposed Jaitapur nuclear power plant project initiated by the Nuclear Power Corporation of India along with French company Areva.

The petitioner urged the court to appoint an independent commission and a court commissioner to investigate the impact of the project and its effect on nearby villagers, animals and agriculture. “One should do an in-depth study of the issue before raising objections,” a division bench of justice DD Sinha and justice VK Tahilramani noted.

June 20, 2012 Posted by | India, opposition to nuclear | Leave a comment

Solar street lights for Indian city

Solar power for streets, Deccan Chromicle, June 16, 2012 By Kiran Tom Sajan | Smitha  T he city’s roads will be soon dotted with solar and wind energy powered street lights. The city corporation is in talks with a private agency for installing street lights using solar and wind energy.

To begin with, plans are afoot to install energy-efficient lights on the Edappally railway overbridge (RoB) and on Chathiyath Road….. The corporation has adopted a policy in favour of energy saving and measures like installing solar street lights will be taken for energy conservation, the mayor added.

According to experts, wind could be a potential energy source that could be used to power even homes and businesses. Earlier, the civic body has decided to install energy-efficient street lights on selected stretches of the roads in the city. It has invited tenders for installing energy saving LED lights along the MG Road and Marine Drive.

The ministry of new and renewable energy has recently included the city in its ‘solar city’ programme, which aims at promoting the use of renewable energy in urban
areas.http://www.deccanchronicle.com/channels/cities/kochi/solar-power-streets-028

June 16, 2012 Posted by | decentralised, India | 1 Comment

“Mentally ill”, “seditious” – govt labels for India’s anti nuclear protestors!

NIMHANS psychiatrists, to their shame, are striving to help people ”understand the importance of the nuclear power plant.” They treat opposition to nuclear power as a disorder like schizophrenia, paranoia, or craving for victimhood.

Demonising anti-nuclear protests, The Daily Star, Praful Bidwai, 15 June 12, So monumen-tally arrogant is India’s nuclear establishment that it brazenly brands its critics insane and in need of psychiatric treatment. It has asked the state-run National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro-Sciences (NIMHANS) to “counsel” the tens of thousands protesting against the Koodankulam nuclear power station in Tamil Nadu that it’s perfectly safe.

This marks a new offensive to impose nuclear power upon people who have resisted Koodankulam’s Russian-made reactors since 1988. After Fukushima, the presumption that fears about nuclear hazards are irrational betrays delusional insensitivity.

The police have filed 107 First Information Reports against an incredible 55,795 people in Koodankulam, charging 6,800 of them with ”sedition” and “waging war.” This sets a new record in harassment of popular protests anywhere. Leave alone sedition, there hasn’t been one violent incident during the seven-months-long Koodankulam protests. Continue reading →

June 16, 2012 Posted by | India, psychology - mental health, Reference | Leave a comment

American companies still worried they might have to pay for accidents caused by their nuclear reactors in India

‘US concerned over India’s Nuclear liability law’ Zee News, 15 June 12, Washington: An Memorandum of Understanding  (MoU)  inked between Indian and American firms for setting up a nuclear reactor in Gujarat does not mean that America’s concerns over India’s nuclear liability law has been addressed, a top US official has said.

“No, it doesn’t mean that the issues with respect to the liability law are resolved,” Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Robert Blake told reporters yesterday at a news conference. ….. The MoU committed both sides to negotiate an Early Works Agreement for the preliminary licensing and site development work associated with construction of the new Westinghouse reactors in Gujarat. At the same time there is an ongoing progress between General Electric-Hitachi and NPCIL on their Memorandum of Understanding. … http://zeenews.india.com/news/nation/us-concerned-over-india-s-nuclear-liability-law_781953.html

June 16, 2012 Posted by | India, politics international | Leave a comment

Indian villages fight against uranium mining plan for Mahbubnagar district.

Locals dig in heels against uranium mining plan, Sribala Vadlapatla, TNN | Jun 14, 2012,  HYDERABAD: The dust on the controversy over uranium mining in Nalgonda district is still to settle and already the government has begun efforts to mine the resource in Mahbubnagar district.

Despite opposition from locals, authorities are going ahead with plans to hold a gram sabha at
Urumilla village in Amrabad mandal, in the Nallamala forest area, on June 14…… Presence of uranium in these villages, about 140km southeast of Hyderabad, was established 10 years back but strong opposition from locals saw the Uranium Corporation of India Ltd (UCIL)
dropping the plan to mine the area…. Padara village has a population of roughly 8,000 people while Urumilla village is 1,500 residents strong.

“We will oppose any move by the authorities to carry out mining in these small villages,” TRS leader Nasarayya said. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/Locals-dig-in-heels-against-uranium-mining-plan/articleshow/14106609.cms

June 14, 2012 Posted by | India, opposition to nuclear, Uranium | 2 Comments

Solar energy brings clean drinking water to 10,000 Indian villages

A solar energy based drinking water supply system has already changed lives of villagers in naxal affected Gadchiroli district of Maharashtra where solar energy based dual pump piped water supply system has been installed.

10,000 Naxal villages to get 24 into 7 water supply, courtesy solar http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/NewDelhi/10-000-Naxal-villages-to-get-24-into-7-water-supply-courtesy-solar/Article1-868921.aspx Chetan Chauhan, Hindustan Times New Delhi, June 10, 2012 You in India’s top cities may envy around one-fifth of total villages in 78 naxal affected districts set to get around the clock tap water supply, courtsey solar energy. Three Central government ministries — New and Renewable Energy, Drinking
Water and Sanitation and Finance — have come together to provide 24 into 7 clean drinking water to 10,000 villages in the Naxal affected districts under the Integrated Action Plan of the Central government. Continue reading →

June 11, 2012 Posted by | decentralised, India | Leave a comment

India’s solar-powered buses

Apoorva Renewable Energy to make solar-electric buses for transport body Business Line, BANGALORE, JUNE 8: Buses in Bangalore may soon be powered by solar energy. The Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) has placed orders with Apoorva Renewable Energy Products to design solar-electric hybrid buses, the company CEO, Mr Suresh Babu, said on the sidelines of the Global Investors Meet 2012.

“The BMTC has asked us to provide a sample hybrid vehicle and we have accepted the order and will start working on it,” Mr Babu said. Several other government bodies such as the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) are in talks with the company too, he said.

The company makes three-wheeled vehicles powered by electric and solar power, and customises products for Indian conditions. “Using a common technology, we design products as per customer requirements and outsource the manufacturing,” Mr Babu said.

EXPORTS Currently, the company’s vehicles are used in Delhi and parts of Karnataka and it will start exporting in two months from now….. http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/companies/article3505672.ece

June 9, 2012 Posted by | decentralised, India | Leave a comment

Indian government treats anti nuclear citizens as mentally ill

If anything, then, the really delusion-prone people are on the other side, in the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) and Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL). The day the Fukushima crisis took a turn for the worse last year, with hydrogen explosions ripping through three reactors, DAE secretary Sreekumar Banerjee said the blasts were “purely a chemical reaction and not a nuclear emergency …”. NPCIL chairman SK Jain went one better: “There is no nuclear accident….It is a well-planned emergency preparedness programme …“

No margin for error Hindustan Times Praful Bidwai June 04, 2012 When it comes to thrusting nuclear power down the throats of unwilling people, official India sets a record of violations of dignity and rights that is embarrassing. Which other government but India’s maligns all anti-nuclear protesters as foreign-inspired and lacking any agency? Where else would the police file 107 FIRs against 55,795 peaceful anti-nuclear protesters, but at Koodankulam, charging 6,800 with “sedition” and ”waging war against the State”?

And which other government has asked a psychiatric institution, in this case, the National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro-Sciences (Nimhans), to “counsel” people and convince them that the project, despite the hazards, is good for them?
To its discredit, Nimhans despatched psychiatrists to Koodankulam to ”get a peek into the protesters’ minds” and help these insane people to “understand the importance” of the plant. According to reports quoting its director, Nimhans has “commenced the collection of primary data” and is now seeking “field reactions” to write “multiple strategies” to address “the problem” (the opposition to nuclear power).

Such opposition is thus equated with schizophrenia, fear of sexual intimacy, paranoia or craving for victimhood, to be cured by drastic means. By this criterion, more than 80% of the people of Japan, Germany, France and Russia – who oppose new nuclear plants – must be considered abnormal. Continue reading →

June 8, 2012 Posted by | India, politics, psychology - mental health | Leave a comment

Solar energy projects for India’s rural areas

Solar energy to be promoted in Varanasi   http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/varanasi/Solar-energy-to-be-promoted-in-Varanasi/articleshow/13767724.cms  Binay Singh, TNN | Jun 3, 2012,  VARANASI: With the announcement of a budgetary provision of Rs 100 crore for promoting solar energy projects particularly in the rural areas of the state the authorities of New and renewable Energy Development Agency (NEDA) are optimistic about further promotion and use of solar energy in the region. Continue reading →

June 4, 2012 Posted by | decentralised, India | 1 Comment

India’s Nuclear Safety Regulatory Authority (NSRA) Bill aims to hide information

Aruna Roy to Sonia: Nuclear Safety bill is anti-transparency First Post India, by FP Staff Jun 1, 2012 Refusal by the Nuclear Corporation of India (NPCIL) to abide by the Central Information Commission’s order to make public the Kudankulam nuclear plant’s safety report has been strongly criticized by leading RTI activist and national advisory council (NAC) member Aruna Roy.

NPCIL is constructing the Koodankulam Nuclear Power Plant in Tamil Nadu in collaboration with Russia.

In a strongly worded letter to NAC chairperson and Congress president Sonia Gandhi, Roy has also brought up issue of the Nuclear Safety Regulatory Authority (NSRA) Bill 2011, which seeks to amend the Right to Information Act.

“It (referring to the Bill) also permits the creation of special nuclear safety regulatory authorities which will be born vaccinated from the RTI Act. There is no rationale for safety and regulatory authorities to be outside the purview of the RTI,” says Roy in her letter. (Read full letter here ) The NSRA, 2011, which was introduced in the Lok Sabha in September, proposes two amendments to the RTI Act.

The first seeks to remove from the scope of the RTI Act sensitive information relating to nuclear and radiation safety issues. And the second seeks to shield regulatory bodies that oversee nuclear facilities established for strategic and defence purposes.

It may be recalled that earlier this year, information commissioner Shailesh Gandhi had written to the Prime Minister expressing ‘serious concern’ on the government’s proposal to amend RTI act through the Nuclear Safety Bill. PMANE to move Supreme Court

The SP Udayakumar-led People’s Movement Against Nuclear Energy (PMANE) , which has been leading the struggle against the Kudankulam nuclear plant from neighbouring Idinthakarrai village since September last year, has in a press statement today condemned the NPCIL’s refusal to follow the CIC order.

As per the CIC order NPCIL was directed to “provide an attested photocopy of the Safety Analysis Report and Site Evaluation Report after severing any proprietary details of designs provided by the suppliers to the appellant before 25 May, 2012.” The NPCIL was also directed to upload the two reports on its site by May 30.

PMANE has said that it will now “intensify our struggle to get all the relevant information about the KKNPP for our safety and well being and we will also take all possible legal steps to that effect.”

Pusparayan, one of the leading members of the PMANE, told Firspost they had begun the process to move Supreme Court….. Pusparayan, meanwhile, has appealed to the government to “be democratic and genuine in sharing information with the public.” http://www.firstpost.com/india/aruna-roy-to-sonia-nuclear-safety-bill-is-anti-transparency-329280.html

June 2, 2012 Posted by | civil liberties, India | Leave a comment

It’s OK, America, – in an Indian nuclear disaster, the supplier won’t be liable

Nuclear reactor supplier cannot be held for damages, says NPCIL Chairman, The Hindu, M. RAMESH CHENNAI, JUNE 1: The point whether the equipment supplier is liable for damages or not if something goes wrong in a nuclear power plant and results in a disaster has been a subject of intense debate in India.

Would it be the power plant operator, Nuclear Power Corporation of India or the equipment (reactor) supplier like GE or Westinghouse, who should pay up?

In an interview to Business Line, Mr S.K. Jain, Chairman and Managing Director, Nuclear Power Corporation of India, who incidentally relinquished his position on Thursday after serving the corporation as CMD for eight long years, explains why it equipment supplier cannot be held liable to pay.

It may be surprising that somebody should say “it is me, and not him, who is liable to pay”, but Mr Jain says that the reactor supplier cannot legally be held responsible….. Mr Jain said that the supplier will be liable for any ‘malafide defect’ in the design.

But what about non-malafide defect? Mr Jain said that even if there was something wrong with the ‘containment’, “six or seven more things would have to go wrong” for a disaster to occur, which are all “outside the control of the supplier”.
http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/companies/article3479426.ece?homepage=true

June 1, 2012 Posted by | India, Legal | Leave a comment

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