Kudankulam row: Expert panels to meet Tuesday
November 7th, 2011 - 8:33 pm ICT by IANSChennai, Nov 7 (IANS) The expert committees appointed by the central and Tamil Nadu governments to allay fears of locals about the Kudankulam nuclear plant in Tirunelveli district of Tamil Nadu will meet Tuesday to discuss the ways of carrying out their mandate, an official said.
“The members of the two committees will be meeting for the first time. The central government has formed a 15-member committee and the Tamil Nadu government has formed a six-member committee,” S.A. Bhardwaj, director (technical) of the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL), told IANS here.
Fourteen members of the central government’s panel met here Monday and discussed the points raised by the anti-Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project (KNPP) agitators.
“Today we discussed the way in which technical aspects could be simplified so that a layman could understand,” a member of the committee told IANS on condition of anonymity.
S. Sivasubramanian, coordinator of the People’s Rights Movement, an organisation fighting for the plant’s closure, told IANS: “Our two representatives on the state government formed committee will participate in tomorrow’s (Tuesday) meeting.
Queried about former president A.P.J. Abdul Kalam’s 10-point programme for the development of Kudankulam and neighbouring areas, he said: “Perhaps laying of four lane road would enable faster evacuation of people in case of a nuclear disaster.”
Referring to Kalam’s statement that country is bigger than individuals, Subramanian said: “A community cannot be sacrificed for the economic development of a nation.”
Kalam visited KNPP Sunday and gave a clean chit to the project, saying it was a modern and safe plant.
NPCIL is building two 1,000 MW nuclear power reactors with Russian technology and equipment in Kudankulam, around 650 km from here.
The first unit is expected to go on stream in December. The project is estimated to cost around Rs.13,160 crore (over $2.5 billion).
Villagers fear for their lives and safety in case of any nuclear accident and the long-term impact it would have on the population.
Their agitation has put a stop to the project work, thereby delaying the commissioning of the first unit by several months.
- Kudankulam: Central panel deliberates in detail - Nov 16, 2011
- Jayalalithaa to take call on resuming work at Kudankulam: Activist - Nov 08, 2011
- Kudankulam protesters demand white paper - Nov 12, 2011
- Kudankulam: Experts panels may meet Friday - Nov 15, 2011
- Protest against Kudankulam project resumes - Oct 09, 2011
- Anti-Kudankulam nuclear project team to meet PM - Oct 05, 2011
- Kudankulam: Aide hopeful Kalam plan will bring peace - Nov 11, 2011
- Kudankulam relay fast enters 10th day - Oct 27, 2011
- Siege of Kudankulam N-plant called off - Dec 11, 2011
- No faulty equipment supplied by Russia for Kudankulam: NPCIL - Oct 27, 2011
- Anti-Kudankulam relay fast continues for 50th day - Dec 06, 2011
- Central panel to finalise report on Kudankulam n-plant - Dec 13, 2011
- Central panel on Kudankulam to meet in three weeks - Dec 03, 2011
- Answers being prepared about Kudankulam n-plant - Nov 10, 2011
- Atomic energy officials hold talks on Kudankulam n-plant - Nov 04, 2011
Tags: abdul kalam, agitators, central government, clean chit, crore, expert committees, expert panels, india ltd, layman, member committee, neighbouring areas, npcil, nuclear disaster, nuclear plant, nuclear power corporation, nuclear power project, nuclear power reactors, russian technology, tamil nadu government, technical aspects