N-power

The Kudankulam mess is entirely the creation of the central and state governments because of their arrogant, arbitrary and autocratic methods, paying scant respect to the voices who voted them to power. Instead of opening a dialogue with protestors to “allay their fears”, the governments sent ‘sarkari scientists’ who only printed reams of paper and passed it off as expert opinion. When people protested, the government responded with hundreds of criminal cases of sedition and “waging war against the state”. When people persisted, police brutality was let loose on women and children sitting on beaches protesting peacefully against “fuel loading” in the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant (KKNPP).

The fact is that there have been several bizarre and irregular happenings connected to KKNPP from the very beginning. What baffles me is the clearance given for fuel loading and the nuclear establishment going ahead with this “commissioning process” despite the scathing report of Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) about “lapses in safety measures” by the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) posing “grave threats.” CAG, the highly regarded constitutional watchdog, has highlighted several lapses by AERB: non-preparation of a nuclear and radiation policy; lack of safety documents as recommended by two expert committees; no decommissioning plan which is extremely critical for public safety and non-adoption of international safety standards and practices. The Nuclear Power Corporation of India themselves have said that they are yet to implement the 17 safety measures recommended by the post-Fukushima taskforce. The environment clearance was given way back in 1988. Fact of the matter is that nuclear power is neither the cleanest nor the safest. There’s been no new plant commissioned in the US for the last 20 years not only because of environmental concerns but also because no bank is willing to fund the project. No one is willing to insure a nuclear plant because of the risks involved. There are many hidden costs, among them the cost of decommissioning it after 40 years and storage of spent fuel for several centuries!

We do not need nuclear power. There are better alternatives available. We have no uranium, but the Government of India is sabotaging the development of new coal and thorium-based technology. The PM talks of energy security but how can there be any security if we have to import reactors and fuel from abroad? It is the pressure applied by superpowers. Australia does not have a single nuclear plant and wants to sell us uranium! The policy is driven by foreign interests. And where is the land to establish new nuclear plants of 2,50,000 MW capacity by 2050?

In 1969, it was announced that by 2000, the country would have 43,500 mega watts of nuclear power. Today, we have just 4,860 mega watts of nuclear power installed, of which barely 50 per cent is generated. It has been a colossal failure. We have such fine IITs, they could have done R & D in solar and wind energy to reduce cost and improve efficiency. But such R & D was deliberately killed.

As regards allegations of foreign funds and NGOs, all I would say is that a jaundiced eye sees everything yellow. Protestors, mostly fishermen, are Christians. The Church does get foreign funds for welfare projects but that is through legal channels. I do not think any of that money has gone into this protest movement. Fundamentalist elements branded all Muslims as terrorists; now Christians are being condemned as traitors? The struggle in Kudankulam is indeed very unique. It is a community movement led by the people, not any particular leader. The 100-year-old St Lourdes church in Idinthkarai village provides space to the protesters, a majority of whom are fishermen and Christians. A few Hindu families residing in the village present a united front against the 2000 MW nuclear power plant. A majority of these fishermen are well informed about the harmful effects of a nuclear power plant on their environment and their livelihoods and about the Fukushima disaster.

The protest against KKNPP has been going on since May 1989 when the then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi signed an agreement with the Russians to build the nuclear plant in Kudankulam. Since then locals have been raising their voices against the power plant, but nobody has bothered to listen to them. Apart from Idinthakarai, 30 other villages around Kudankulam are fighting for the same cause. KKNPP would destroy the livelihood of most of these villagers who depend on fishing on the seas. It is audacious to say that KKNPP is perfectly safe and nuclear power should be pushed at any cost. 

As told to Appanasamy