South TN residents don’t want a Fukushima on their hands.

South TN residents don’t want a Fukushima on their hands.

A few months ago protests against a nuclear plant in Jaitapur, Maharashtra grabbed national headlines. Now a repeat story.
Over 3000 villagers are on the roads, protesting against a nuclear power plant in Kudankulam. Located in Tirunelveli South Tamilnadu, the plant is gearing up to commission its first

Screen grab of the power plant in Tirunelveli - CNN IBN

2 reactors. The 1,000 MW VVER type reactors have been announced in the final stages of an ambitious project that has been touted as the answer to the severe power shortage in Tamil Nadu. But villagers in and around the nuclear plant are on an indefinite strike demanding the complete shutdown of the project. About one hundred of them have been fasting since Monday. Women, men and even children say they have seen the haunting images of the Fukushima nuclear disaster. They now fear for their lives and livelihood and are not ready to face a similar disaster. Anti nuclear activists who are spearheading the protest, claim they have been wary about the Kudankulam power project ever since its inception. There is no police presence at the protest site itself, but there are personnel stationed a few kilometers away monitoring the situation. They have been asked to show restraint as long as the protest remains peaceful, although no permission has been sought for the agitation.
The Kudankulam nuclear plant authorities have refused to react saying this is a law and order situation and it is upto the state government to handle it. Experts say there is no question of going back on the project. This is the first imported nuclear reactor that will be functioning in India and moreover hundreds of crores of rupees have already been invested.
Globally there is increasing concern especially after the disaster in Japan and the explosion reported from France. And this outcry has once again raised uneasy questions over nuclear safety:
How prepared are we to handle such disasters?
Should India like Germany and USA at least start planning on phasing out nuclear reactors?
What about research on alternate energy sources that can meet the demands of the country?
But can India ago back on its nuclear energy roadmap after signing the ambitious Nuclear Deal?
Will the Government come forward in addressing the safety concerns of the villagers?
The protesters meanwhile are determined not to give up until their voices are heard and their questions answered.

how can this plant starting...................

how can this plant starting...................

these are the live photos of kudamkulam villagers especially in "IDINTHAKKARA" they were said to me about the problems hating in these days. they cannot sleeep and having food, walking any were without anxious mind. evert days they living with awaiting for a tragedy after 'FUKUSHIMA' and 'CHERNOB'.

struggle against this nuclear plant and next coming  nuclear plants also.....

Koodankulam struggle: Western nations are learning from their mistakes, India is not

Since August 2011, Tamil Nadu has witnessed renewed protests against the commissioning of the first of two 1,000 MW power plants as part of the Koodankulam Nuclear Power Project (KKNPP).
While protests have been ongoing against the project since the proposal was mooted in 1988, the impending commissioning of the reactors in light of the devastating and uncontrollable nuclear meltdown in Fukushima, Japan, has rightly triggered a wave of concern among thinking people in India.

The Koodankulam Nuclear Plant has been hit by a tsunami of protests

The protest against nuclear power plants is not isolated to Koodankulam. Even as we speak, fisherfolk and farmers in Jaitapur, Maharashtra, and farmers and residents of Gorakhpur, Haryana, are saying a loud “No” to nuclear power plants in their area.

Haripur, West Bengal, which was to be a site for Russian reactors, will no longer be on the nuclear map, as the state government bowed to local sentiment and declared West Bengal a nuclear-free state.

Wise people do learn from others’ mistakes. Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Belgium and Japan have all announced that they will move away from the nuclear option, and explore clean and sustainable forms of electricity generation.

But India’s chest-thumping “nucleocracy” wants to play the death game, with peasants and fisherfolk as pawns in the gamble.

The staunch and united protests by farmers, traders and fisherfolk in Tirunelveli, Kanyakumari and Thoothukudi have scared the nuclear establishment.

Faced with the real prospect of having to abandon the project, the Congress-led UPA government is doing what it does best -- divide and rule; communalise the issue and allege that foreign hands are at play.

At different times, the nuclear establishment and Dr Manmohan Singh have said different things -- that Tamil Nadu’s industrialisation will falter without the project; that India cannot do without nuclear energy; that our nuclear plants are 100% safe; that abandoning the project at this stage could prove dangerous.

When it comes to explaining the consequences of a major disaster, Indian scientists, including Dr Kalam, have behaved more like astrologers than rationalists. How can anyone predict that no major earthquake will hit this area or that this human-made technology cannot fail?

The fears of Fukushima and the fears about continued electricity shortages have raised a number of conflicting emotions and doubts in people’s minds. This article aims to dispel some of the misconceptions about the safety of nuclear energy, and answer some frequently arising questions.
1. India is a developing country. We need electricity to develop. If we rule out the nuclear option, won’t our development be hampered?
Nuclear power is not the only option for generating electricity. There are a number of conventional and non-conventional sources of energy that can be explored for generating electricity.

It is a fact that in more than 60 years of post-independence industrialisation and modernisation, the contribution of nuclear energy to the total electricity generation is less than 3%.

Renewable energy sources already contribute more than 10% of India’s electricity and large hydro projects deliver about 22%. Large dams, though, have exacted a devastating toll on the environment and lives of adivasi communities.

For India to emerge as a true leader, we have to be careful not to destroy our natural capital -- our waters, lands, air and people. By saying “No” to dangerous, risky and expensive technologies like nuclear, we create opportunities to develop cleaner, saner and less dangerous forms of electricity generation.

Increasing the available electricity can also be achieved by conservation and demand-side management strategies. For every 100 MW of electricity generated in India, more than 40 MW is lost because of inefficient transmission and distribution (T&D).

Industrialised countries like Sweden have a T&D loss of less than 7%. In other words, of the total 180,000 megawatts of electricity generated in India, 72,000 megawatts (40%) is lost, wasted. That is equivalent to shutting off all power plants in the states of Maharashtra, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka.

If efficiency were to be increased to, say 90%, the savings would be the equivalent of setting up a 60,000 MW power plant -- or about 60 plants the size of the Koodankulam plant that is currently at the heart of a controversy -- with a fraction of the investment, and none of the risks.

Increasing energy efficiency of electrical appliances is another way to save electricity. In Tamil Nadu alone, if incandescent lamps are converted to LED bulbs we could save about 2,000 MW.

Add to all this, the benefits of cutting on wasteful consumption. Shopping malls and IT companies burn electricity throughout the day. Night or day, lights and ACs are running even as households and small commercial establishments have to suffer power outages.

There must be a rationalisation of the use of electricity. The fact that villages surrounding Kalpakkam, where a nuclear plant is situated, are reeling under major power shortages is proof of the “inequitable distribution” of electricity.

Kudankulam N-plant: Protesters allege threat to lives

Kudankulam:  Days after talks between government representatives and villagers protesting against the setting up of a nuclear power plant at Kudankulam in Tamil Nadu failed, protesters are alleging a threat to their lives. Activists Udhayakumar, Pushparayan and Jesudas have alleged that they have received threats over the phone.

The activists have said that they will hold the Centre responsible if anything happens to them or their family.

Mr Pushparayan and Mr Jesudas are part of the state-appointed panel. Activists and villagers are demanding closure of the Rs. 13000-crore nuclear plant. Protesters are marking the 100th day of protest at the Kudankulam nuclear plant.

Talks today between the state government and a panel of experts failed a week back.

At stake is expensive equipment and the maintenance required to keep the plant's safety features intact.

The atomic plant was expected to provide respite from the power shortage that has become a staple feature in Tamil Nadu with many believing that it's adversely affecting the state's chances of development.

Two nuclear reactors were to start functioning within the next few months.  But all time-lines have sunk after protesters began blocking the main road leading to the plant, preventing staff engineers and others from getting to work.

Read more at: http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/kudankulam-n-plant-protesters-allege-threat-to-lives-152712&cp