Thaindian News

Chennai, March 13 (IANS) Even as the Indian nuclear establishment is going flat out to convince the people through advertisements about the safety of atomic power, an environmental group here has complained to the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) about the advertisements “misleading” the public.

The group, Poovulagin Nanbargal, has complained against Vigyan Prasar, an autonomous organisation under the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India.

“Vigyan Prasar has released an advertisement in The Hindu daily on March 10. The advertisement carries discrepancies,” G. Sundarrajan of Poovulagin Nanbargal told IANS.

He said Poovulagin Nanbargal is a movement of like-minded people focused on environmental issues.

In his complaint Tuesday to ASCI terming the claims of Vigyan Prasar that nuclear power is clean, green and safe as highly mis-leading Sundarrajan said: “Nuclear power can never be safe, it is shown as safe by investing tons & tons of money especially in an era where natural calamity is increasing and threat from external factors are highly possible.”

He said the National Disaster Management Authority has declared that 70 percent of India’s land mass is prone to natural calamities and it is not possible to predict the fury of nature in terms of magnitude of earthquake or tsunami.

“Hence it is impossible to build an all Natural Calamity Proof Reactor,” the complaint notes.

On the claims of nuclear power being clean and green, Sundarrajan said that the entire fuel cycle should be taken into account while deciding a power source as clean.

He said uranium mining, enrichment of uranium and storing of nuclear waste are all energy intensive processes.

Poovulagin Nanbargal has urged ASCI to instruct Vigyan Prasar to withdraw the advertisement and prohibit it from publishing mis-leading advertisements.