A day after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh told her that the stir against the Koodankulam nuclear power project would hit the state's development, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa on Thursday said that her government would respect the sentiments of locals on the controversial project. "As for as the Koodankulam Nuclear Power Project is concerned, the Tamil Nadu government will certainly act after respecting the local peoples' sentiments," she said.
Activists strongly opposed to the Koodankulam Nuclear Power Project have now turned to God. In their letter, they have urged the Almighty to save them from a 'nuclear disaster'.
'We are restricting the media because of the difficulties we are facing with the media. The public have been visiting the plant regularly,' says R S Sundar, site director at the controversial Koodankulam Nuclear Power Project in Tamil Nadu. 'The public is knowledgeable. They ask as many questions as journalists. We have faced tough questions from them, clarified their doubts and convinced them.'
An uneasy calm prevailed at nearby Koodankulam on Sunday with anti-nuclear protesters bracing for a showdown with authorities, protesting against the loading of fuel at the controversial nuclear plant.
Carrying different views on the controversial Koodankulam Nuclear Power Project, a delegation of Tamil Nadu Government and activists opposed to the plant will discuss the issue with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in New Delhi on Friday.
S P Udayakumar, who is fasting along with his associate M Pushparaya, gives us a first-person account from Idinthakarai, Ground Zero of the protests against the nuclear power plant in Tamil Nadu.
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.
Amid concerns over the Koodankulam nuclear power project, the National Disaster Management Authority has said safety measures at all atomic plants in the country were in place but admitted earthquakes at these sites cannot be completely ruled out.
Former president A P J Abdul Kalam has submitted a 39-page report to the Central government and the government of Tamil Nadu that recommends ten steps for ensuring the safety and development of the Koodankulam nuclear plant and its surrounding areas.
Anti- Koodankulam nuclear power project leaders held a massive protest meeting opposite the Palayamcottai bus stand in Tirunelveli. Thousands turned up to show their solidarity with this small band of determined activists. Ganesh Nadar reports.
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.
Acting swiftly after Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa accused the Centre of "abdicating" its responsibilities, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday spoke to her seeking her guidance to resolve the issue arising out of protests over the Koodankulam nuclear power project.
The first unit of the Koodankulam nuclear power project is expected to start generating electricity in the next 40 days, Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office V Narayanasamy said on Monday. He said the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board officials were at the Koodankulam project site and inspecting the plant.
The Tamil Nadu government on Thursday set up a four-member expert panel, which includes former atomic energy commission chief M R Srinivasan, to submit a report on the fears and concerns of local people over the Koodankulam nuclear power project.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa on Sunday asked Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to advise Kerala not to build a new dam across Mullaperiyar and sought a financial package for the state.
In an exclusive conversation with rediff.com's A Ganesh Nadar, KNPP director K Balajee says his team worked 15 hours a day to get the plant ready, and now they are sitting idle thanks to the escalating protests.
In an exclusive conversation with rediff.com's A Ganesh Nadar, KNPP director K Balajee says his team worked 15 hours a day to get the plant ready, and now they are sitting idle thanks to the escalating protests.
The Centre is expected to constitute an expert group after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's return from abroad and would seek the guidance of former President A P J Abdul Kalam on allaying the fears of the locals opposed to the controversial Koodankulam nuclear power project.
Amid demands for scrapping the Koodankulam nuclear power project, a top atomic scientist on Saturday vouched for its safety, saying all types of exigencies including a Fukushima-type mishap have been factored in.
Protesters on Thursday formally ended their 12-day fast against the Koodankulam Nuclear Power Project, a day after the Tamil Nadu government promised to pass a resolution at the Cabinet for halting the project.
The 11-day-old fast by locals demanding the scrapping of the Koodankulam nuclear power project was called off on Wednesday after Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa agreed for a cabinet resolution to request the Centre to halt the project.
Stalemate over the controversial Koodankulam nuclear power project continued despite efforts by the Prime Minister's emissary to break the ice even as the indefinite fast by locals demanding scrapping of the project entered the 10th day on Tuesday.
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.
Strongly batting for early commissioning of the Koodankulam nuclear power project, Home Minister P Chidambaram on Saturday night said the Centre was probing the flow of funds allegedly received by anti-project activists and would take strong action if the money was supplied in a "wrong way". "Investigation is going on to know how the protestors are getting funds. If there is anything wrong, if the money came in a wrong way, if it was used for wrong purpose," he said.
The plant was earlier scheduled for commercial operations in December but it was deferred to March next due to the stir by locals and resultant stand-off between them and government. The commercial operation of the second unit to produce another 1000 mw is now expected by February 2013, the NPCIL said.
Hardening their stand on the controversial Koodankulam Nuclear Power Project, anti-nuclear activists on Sunday appealed to Chief Minister Jayalalithaa to take a stand and adopt a cabinet resolution on scrapping it.
Talks to break the logjam over the controversial Koodankulam Nuclear Power Project made no headway on Friday with protestors terming as "failure" the discussions with the Central government's expert committee on the issue.
Bogged down by the over month-long agitation by local people led by anti-nuclear activists, commissioning of the first reactor of the controversial Koodankulam Nuclear Power Project has been delayed by three months.
Dr Kalam assures the protestors and the country that the technology used in the Koodankulam nuclear project is the best in the world, and tries to allay the fears of the villagers over its safety arrangements, reports A Ganesh Nadar.
Giving a thumbs up to the Koodankulam nuclear power project, former President A P J Abdul Kalam on Sunday said he is "fully satisfied" with the safety measures incorporated in the mega power project.
Villagers of Idinthakarai in Tamil Nadu are on a relay fast since the last one week protesting the construction of the nuclear power project in neighbouring Koodankulam. Rediff.com's A Ganesh Nadar spoke to the man heading the protest, S P Udaykumar.
The Centre on Saturday said it is confident of commissioning the first unit of the Koodankulam Nuclear Power Project to generate 1,000 MW of power in two months as 99 per cent of its works are over.
The Koodankulam Nuclear Power Project has been jinxed ever since it was thought of. It was first talked about in 1988 when the Soviet Union agreed to build a plant in India and also supply it fuel. The Soviet Union broke up soon after. Rediff.com's A Ganesh Nadar spoke with Swapnesh Kumar Malhotra.
R S Sundar, the site director of KNPP, on how the plant is producing 1,000 MW of nuclear power, the largest in the country.
In a spontaneous outpouring of grief, thousands of people bid an emotional farewell to former President APJ Abdul Kalam who was on Thursday laid to rest with full state honours in his home town here amid chants of "Bharat Mata Ki Jai".
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