Leader of the anti-nuclear plant project, S P Udaykumar, while boycotting the meeting with Central government-appointed experts, said that his group had lost faith in the Central government and would now only hold meetings with state government officials. Ganesh Nadar reports from Tirunelveli.
The Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd has postponed the expected date of commissioning of the first unit of Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant to next month
Rediff.com's A Ganesh Nadar visits Idinthakarai, the site of hunger strikes opposing the controversial Koodankulam Nuclear Power Plant at Tirunelveli district in Tamil Nadu, and tells us how the high-voltage agitation met a rather tame end.
After giving a green signal to the Koodankulam nuclear power plant, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa on Saturday demanded that the entire 2000 MW power to be generated by its two units be given to the state in view of the "severe power shortage."
When dealing with risky technology, it is most important to take people into confidence and tell them what the real risks are, says environment justice activist Nityanand Jayaraman.
Reviving their protests against the commissioning of Koodankulam Nuclear Power Plant, activists of People's Movement Against Nuclear Energy on Monday said they would go ahead with their indefinite fast from Tuesday.
The Union Home Ministry has referred two cases of Tamil Nadu-based Non-Governmental organisations for investigations for FCRA violations. The two NGO's have been organising demonstrations against setting up the Koodankulam nuclear power plant in the state.
'...If the power situation does not improve in Tamil Nadu. The Congress will not allow the plant to start.' As the Supreme Court clears the decks for commissioning the controversial Koodankulam nuclear plant, A Ganesh Nadar checks the mood in the villages, the epi-centre of the protests.
A tense situation prevailed as over 1,000 anti nuclear protesters made a vain bid to lay a siege to the controversial Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant, protesting against the proposed loading of fuel.
The People's Movement Against Nuclear Energy, leading the protest against the Koodankulam Nuclear Power Plant, on Saturday threatened to sue the Prime Minister's Office for linking the stir to foreign funding.
The People's Movement Against Nuclear Energy, which is spearheading the stir against the Koodankulam Nuclear Power plant, on Friday rejected as "baseless" Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's remarks that foreign NGOs are behind its protest. "It is unfortunate that the prime minister has made the allegations without any documentary proof. We strongly deny his observation that the agitation is being funded by other countries," PMANE convener S P Udayakumar told reporters.
Blaming the Centre's "inaction" for the stalemate over the Koodankulam nuclear power plant issue, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa on Tuesday said her government was firm on suspension of the work on the controversial project till people's concerns were addressed.
Stepping up their protest against the Koodankulam nuclear power plant, agitators on Thursday staged a roadblock in front of the plant site, preventing entry of scientists and workers into the complex.
'We have launched a massive outreach programme, not only at Koodankulam but at all operating projects and those proposed. You will see the change, though this needs time and some healing,' says Kailash Chandra Purohit, the new chairman and managing director of Nuclear Power Corporation
As the protest against Koodankulam Nuclear Power Plant in the Tirunelveli district of Tamil Nadu continued to gather momentum with over 20,000 people staging a relay fast on Wednesday, the state government invited representatives of the core group spearheading the stir for talks.
Officials of Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited are inspecting the first unit of Koodankulam Nuclear Power Plant in Tirunelveli district after removing dummy fuel from the reactor prior to getting clearance from the Atomic Energy Regulatory board to upload the real fuel.
The Madurai regional passport officer has claimed that anti-nuclear power plant activist S P Udayakumar may flee the country as there are 98 criminal cases against him. A Ganesh Nadar reports
Anti-nuclear activist S P Udayakumar, spearheading the stir against Koodankulam Nuclear Power Plant on Tuesday sent a legal notice to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for his comments on the funding of the protests against the project.
The four-member committee set up by Tamil Nadu Government on the safety aspects of Koodankulam nuclear power plant on Tuesday submitted its report to Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa amid indication that it has given a clean chit to the controversial project stalled by protests.
A German national was picked up by the Tamil Nadu police in Nagercoil for allegedly assisting the protests against the Koodankulam Nuclear Power Plant and deported from the country in the wee hours of Tuesday.
An anti-nuclear forum spearheading the stir against Koodankulam Nuclear Power Plant on Monday said they would withdraw their protest if most locals favoured the project and demanded that the state government constituted panel visit all villages and towns affected by KNPP. "We hope the team comes to our villages, talks to our people, respects their feelings and takes a decision after considering the sentiments of the people."
Union Minister V Narayanasamy on Saturday said it is the responsibility of the Centre and the Tamil Nadu government to allay fears of locals over the Koodankulam nuclear power plant and asked religious groups not to instigate anti-nuclear protesters.
Construction work at the controversial Koodankulam nuclear power plant has been stopped but essential maintenance activities are underway, Minister of State in the Prime Ministers Office V Narayanasamy said on Thursday.
Unhappy with the lack of seriousness being accorded to voices against the nuclear plant, the protestors have been touring the southern-most districts of the state to spread the word.
With the standoff over the Koodankulam Nuclear Power Plant issue continuing, top atomic scientists will meet Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa on Friday to discuss ways and means to allay the fears of the locals who are insisting on scrapping the project.
The anti-Koodankulam nuclear power plant activists on Wednesday demanded that Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam withdraw support to the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government and stand by their cause,as they continued their stir demanding scrapping of the project.
Breaking the brief truce, more than 7,000 people on Sunday observed a token fast against the Koodankulam nuclear power plant and vowed to intensify the struggle if the government did not scrap it.
The Centre is looking into Tamil Nadu's demand for allocation of entire power to be generated from the Koodankulam Nuclear Power Plant, Minister of State in the PMO, V Narayanasamy on Friday said.
Dr Suresh Moses Lee, who was one of the members of the panel of experts constituted by the Centre to examine the reactors of Koodankulam Nuclear Power Project, talks to rediff.com's Shobha Warrier about the safety aspects of the controversial plant.
What is in store for the Koodankulam nuclear power plants, asks S P Udayakumar.
A day after the Tamil Nadu government gave its go ahead to the Koodankulam Nuclear Power Plant, work at the Indo-Russian project started in full swing with officials expressing hope that the first unit would be commissioned "as soon as possible."
Upset over the prolonged delay in the commissioning of the Koodankulam Nuclear Power Plant, Russia on Wednesday said it should "start working now" and there should be a "movement" to start the plant. "The machines have to start working now because after several weeks, you will have to spend much more time and money to maintain them. You will pay for nothing. They will be idle but you have to pay for their maintenance," Russian Ambassador to India Alexander M Kadakin said.
Fuel is being loaded in the Koodankulam Nuclear Power Plant. Outside, the agitation continues, though to most observers it seems futile -- the fishermen continue to fast, stand in knee deep water one day and neck deep water the next day. A Ganesh Nadar reports
The committees set up by the Centre and Tamil Nadu government to resolve the standoff over the Koodankulam Nuclear Power Plant met in Tirunelveli on Tuesday for the first time when representatives of the protesters presented a charter of demands including a paper on plant's status.
The week-long protest against Koodankulam nuclear power plant was suspended for two days on Sunday in view of the civic polls in Tamil Nadu even as the stir has left over 100 staff members stranded inside the main project complex.
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The Centre has zeroed in on Kovalam village in Kanyakumari district for a new port, but fishermen's protests could derail this plan.
'We see different people bringing different resentments and we feel this is the result of the deprivation of an identity because of the reintroduction of Hindi, the Hindutva overtones in the national discourse, the betrayal of the Dravidian parties and even small things like the Devanagiri script in the Rs 2,000 note.'
In one village, a woman asks, "They are always showing cash seizures on television, you think some of it will escape and we will get money as usual?" "Only 1 percent of cash is actually seized, the rest has arrived, you don't worry," a party worker assures her. Rediff.com's A Ganesh Nadar reports on the election in the southern-most tip of the country.
'The government is using the Intelligence Bureau to go after NGOs.' 'It is not only the NDA, the UPA also didn't like NGOs.' 'NGOs predominantly work with the poor. So, when you cancel an NGO, the affected are the poor, the Dalits, the tribals, the street children and the marginalised.'
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