State requests halt to Koodankulam nuclear project; protestors call off hunger strike
Koodankulam nuclear project: Protestors call off fast, Indian Express Sep 21 2011, Chennai: The 11-day-old fast by locals demanding scrapping of the Koodankulam nuclear power project was on Wednesday called off after Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa agreed for a cabinet resolution to request the Centre to halt the project. Continue reading
India aiming for global leadership in renewable eneergy
India will be global leader in solar energy: Minister of New And Renewable Energy Farooq Abdullah, THE ECONOMIC TIMES, 21 SEP, 2011, CHICAGO: Minister of New And Renewable EnergyFarooq Abdullah today discussed ways to reduce the cost of producing solar power and said the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission aims to establish India as a leader in the field. Continue reading
Kudankulam anti nuclear protestors resolute against Chief Minister
Anti-nuclear plant protesters in Tamil Nadu turn down Jayalalithaa appeal, THE ECONOMIC TIMES, 17 SEP, 2011, , JOE A SCARIA, CHENNAI: Protestors from three southern districts in Tamil Nadu have refused to give up their demand to shut down what is poised to be the nation’s newest nuclear power plant coming up in Kudankulam in Tirunelveli district.
Chief Minister Jayalalithaa Jayaram made a “kind appeal” to the protestors, including 127 people who are on a fast that entered the sixth day on Friday, to end their protest. She said the power plant had ensured all safety parameters, and that it was situated in the second zone of seismic activity where earthquakes were unlikely.
The protestors have turned down her plea. “The CM’s request was disappointing for all of those who are here demanding closure of the plant”, Amal Raj, a volunteer of the People’s Movement against Nuclear Energy which is spearheading the agitation against the nuke project told ET.
Among those who have thrown their weight behind the agitation to have the plant shut, is the local Radhapuram MLA, Michael Rayappan of DMDK, which was an ally of the ruling AIADMK in the assembly poll. … http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics/nation/anti-nuclear-plant-protesters-in-tamil-nadu-turn-down-jayalalithaa-appeal/articleshow/10012764.cms
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Tamil Nadu’s Chief Minister discussed nuclear power safety with nuclear scientists and engineers – and surprise surprise – they said it was safe!
Koodankulam nuclear plant: Jayalalithaa slams protesters, says safety ensured, Sep 16, 2011, By Kumar Chellappan Chennai | Agency: DNA The agitators fasting for the closure of the 1000 MW Koodankulam Nuclear Power Plant were given a dressing down by Tamil Nadu chief minister Jayalalithaa who described the reactor quite safe.“My discussions with nuclear scientists and engineers have allayed all kinds of apprehensions….
Representations of various organisations including Peoples Movement Against Nuclear Energy, NGOs and some sections of the Church have been on indefinite fast asking for the closure of the Koodankulam plant which is expected to be commissioned by December 2011….
India: Central and State govts ignoring huge anti nuclear protest
The non-violent struggle from people are not being responded to with seriousness by the state government and central government. There is a huge battalion of police personnel around Idinthakarai village.
Indefinite Fast Against Nuclear Plant in Koodankulam, By Peoples Movement Against Nuclear Energy (PMANE), 16 September, 2011,Countercurrents.org 5th day Update from Idinthakarai Indefinite Fast Koodankulam: The 25000 people who gathered in Idinthakari village for protesting against Koodankulam nuclear plant rejects Tamil Nadu Chief Minister freebies like mixy, grinder, laptop etc
Over 20,000 people in relay fast against nuclear power
have extended their support to the protestGovt calls for talks with anti-Nuclear Plant protestors, Hndustan Times, Press Trust Of India, Tirunelveli, September 14, 2011 As the protest against Koodankulam Nuclear Power Plant in the district continued to gather momentum with over 20,000 people staging a relay fast on Wednesday, the Tamil Nadu Government invited representatives of the core group spearheading the stir for talks. Continue reading Catholics, Hindus, Muslims against nuclear energy in Kudankulam
The Catholic Church and the Church of South India have joined the Hindu and Muslim communities in the protest fast being undertaken by 127 people over the past four days, giving a new turn to the protest. Religious leaders who have formally pledged their support to the protest include Kottar bishop Peter Remigus, Palayamkottai bishop Jude Paulraj, Tuticorin Nazareth bishop Jebachandran, CSI bishop Christudas, Swami Balaprajapathi and Mohammed Elias.
“This has nothing to do with the Catholic Church in particular. We are supporting the cause in our individual capacities. We see this as a fight between good and evil”, said bishop Ambrose,
After caste, south Tamil Nadu on the boil over nuclear power, ECONOMIC TIMES, 4 SEP, 2011, JOE A SCARIA, CHENNAI: On Sunday, seven lives were lost in Paramakudi in south Tamil Nadu’s Ramanathapuram district when a gathering to pay homage to Dalit leader Immanuel Sekaran turned violent, triggering police firing. Just as the last of the victims are being cremated, three other districts in south Tamil Nadu are up in revolt, demanding closure of the nuclear power plant at Kudankulam in Tirunelveli district.
Once a barren landscape, Kudankulam village is on the verge of being the latest nuclear power location on the world map, but just weeks away from the commissioning of the first of its two1,000 mw nuclear reactors, villagers in Kanyakumari, Tuticorin and Tirunelveli districts are massing to demand that the Rs 13,000-crore, ready-to-commission plant be scrapped. ….
The Catholic Church and the Church of South India have joined the Hindu and Muslim communities in the protest fast being undertaken by 127 people over the past four days, giving a new turn to the protest. Religious leaders who have formally pledged their support to the protest include Kottar bishop Peter Remigus, Palayamkottai bishop Jude Paulraj, Tuticorin Nazareth bishop Jebachandran, CSI bishop Christudas, Swami Balaprajapathi and Mohammed Elias.
“This has nothing to do with the Catholic Church in particular. We are supporting the cause in our individual capacities. We see this as a fight between good and evil”, said bishop Ambrose, demanding that the Indian government also take a line like the Germans, to steer clear of nuclear power in the interest of people’s safety.
SP Udayakumar, co-ordinator of the People’s Movement against Nuclear Power, said the organisation’s demand was to have a resolution passed in the Tamil Nadu assembly against commissioning the plant. He said the project had given false hopes of thousands of jobs, while the reality was different. “When the plant was under construction, there were many north Indian labourers, to whom local people rented out houses or rooms, but now even that income has stopped”, says Udayakumar.
Experts say that a plant as sophisticated as the one at Kudankulam typically does not employ people in the hundreds, and that the Kudankulam unit’s employee strength is in the region of 1,000.
Following France’s accident, Koodankulam anti nuclear protest gathers momentum
this was not a struggle by a selective group of people. “Authorities are giving a colour that it is a struggle by fishermen against a nuclear project. But the fact is that all sections of people are participating in it,”
France nuke blast fuels Koodankulam agitation, New Indian Express, 14 Sept 11, TIRUNELVELI: As news about the explosion at a nuclear site in Marcoule, southern France reached the fasting agitators in Idinthakarai, the call to shut down the Koodankulam Nuclear Power Project (KKNPP) almost reached a feverish pitch. Continue reading
Increasing anti nuclear protest at Koodankulam
Protests against Koodankulam nuclear project gather steam News One, 14 Sept 11, Chennai, Sep 13 (IANS) Protests at Koodankulam in Tamil Nadu’s Tirunelveli district, where a nuclear plant is to be commissioned soon, have been gathering steam with politicians joining the agitators. Over 125 people are fasting to demanding closure of the two 1,000 MW power plants being built by the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) with Russian help.MDMK leader Vaiko, who has lent his support to the protesters, told reporters Tuesday in Tirunelvelli that after the recent nuclear accident in Japan, there is increased awareness about atomic power and its hazards. He said the nuclear power project poses danger not only to the livelihood of the fishermen but also to the entire southern districts in Tamil Nadu.
According to S.P.Udaykumar, an anti-nuclear activist, the project poses danger to human life, and environment in the area. He said over 15,000 villagers will participate in relay fasts in support of those who are fasting indefinitely.
Those on an indefinite fast against the project include women, disabled as well as nuns and priests. Tirunelveli is around 650 km from Chennai. http://www.inewsone.com/2011/09/13/protests-against-koodankulam-nuclear-project-gather-steam/75963
India: police crack down on Koodankulam anti nuclear protestors
Koodankulam tense, cops step up security, IBN Live 10 Sept 11, TIRUNELVELI: With the announcement of the hunger strike at Idinthakarai near Koodankulam on Sunday, police have initiated preventive measures by detaining a few persons, Continue reading
India’s government will weaken its nuclear safeguards
Government plans nuclear watchdog with limited power, India Today, 10 Sept 11 A new Bill introduced in Parliament for setting up a Nuclear SafetyRegulatory Authority (NSRA) could result in a regulatory system much weaker than the existing one. Continue reading
Russia giving up on plan for nuclear plant in Haripur, India
Russia wants West Bengal nuclear plant relocated, Sachin Parashar, TNN | Sep 9, 2011,Times of India NEW DELHI: The government is looking at allotting another site for nuclear reactor to Russia in place of Haripur in West Bengal, a location marred by controversy. Confirming that the Russians have officially sought another site, government sources indicated a new site could be allotted soon.
The Mamta Banerjee-led government in the state announced last month that it was going to scrap the project, but it did not prevent Prime Minister Manmohan Singh from making a
strong case for nuclear energy when he visited Kolkata later.
“There is no decision yet but we are looking at the request from the Russians. We can allot another site to them,” said a senior government source. The Russians have been expressing concern about protests in Haripur since last year, but the government was still hopeful of a way out. With Mamata’s regime not relenting, the Centre has been forced to think of other alternative sites.
West Bengal power minister said in the assembly last month that the government would not allow any nuclear power plant to be set up in the state. Russia’s state-owned nuclear power 
equipment and service giant Rosatom had asked the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) to consider allotting it another site for the plant. ……
Rosatom chief Sergei Kiriyenko had earlier said that a total of 12 nuclear power units were to be built at Kudankulam and Haripur. Haripur was said to be an important part of the Centre’s plans for achieving its target of generating 30,000MW of nuclear power by 2030.
Still no way to monitor radiation in Mayapuri scrap market
No radiation detectors still in Mayapuri scrap market – Hindustan Times, 6 Sept 11, Even 16 months after it was hit by radiation, leaving one person dead and eight seriously injured, the Mayapuri market in west Delhi, the biggest scrap market in India, still does not have a regulatory body. In April 2010, radioactive Cobalt 60 from a Delhi University (DU) laboratory thatwas auctioned off found its way to the market.
Although six professors were charge sheeted by the Delhi Police on Friday, the scrap dealers are still on the edge, as there is no mechanism to detect hazardous materials.
“The market is not equipped with detectors, even though it is common practice in steel recycling factories in other countries. The presence of toxic heavy metals and harmful chemicals threatens people living in the area,” said Deepak Jain, who suffered radiation injuries in the crisis last April.
Sharad Sinha, a scrap dealer, said, “We have been facing an acute shortage of workers after the incident. Ever since the incident, no one wants to come and work here.” No radiation detectors still in Mayapuri scrap market – Hindustan Times
Poor radiation safety at Indian university
Atomic energy regulator shuts down radiotherapy machines at Safdarjung – Indian Express, 3 Sept 11, In line for its first MCI inspection after being brought under the Indraprastha University (IP), the radiotherapy department of Safdarjung hospital and Vardhaman Medical College, faces risk of derecognition. The Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB), the apex body monitoring radiation safety standards in hospitals, has already directed the department to shut down two cobalt and one brachytherapy machines due to a dearth of radiation safety norms and inadequate posts of radiation safety officers. ..Atomic energy regulator shuts down radiotherapy machines at Safdarjung – Indian Express
Radiation carelessness – 6 Indian professors charged
6 Delhi University teachers face charges. The Asian Age, Sep 03, 2011 | The Delhi police on Friday filed a charge sheet in a city court against six Delhi University professors in the 2010 Mayapuri radiation case for endangering lives by auctioning an radioactive gamma irradiator without following mandatory precautions.
The chargesheet, filed before metropolitan magistrate Lovleen, covers Delhi University teachers including the then head of chemistry department V.S. Parmar and the then dean of sciences Roop Lal.
Besides them, Rakesh Kumar, Ramesh Chandra Rastogi, Ashok Prasad and Rita Kakkar have also been chargesheeted under various penal provisions dealing with causing death by rash and negligent acts and causing grievous hurt.
The court is likely to take cognisance of the probe report on September 21. http://www.asianage.com/delhi/6-du-teachers-face-charges-919
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