Thaindian News

New Delhi, Nov 7 (IANS) Former president A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Monday vouched for the safety of the proposed Kudankulam nuclear plant in Tamil Nadu, where a protest is underway by local residents against the facility. But he refused to be a negotiator between the protesters and the government.

Kalam, an eminent defence scientist who visited the facility Sunday, told CNN-IBN news channel that he had had a look at three safety measures for the nuclear facility and that “these three systems prove that the reactor is a very safe nuclear reactor”.

Asked if he would play negotiator between the government and the protesters, he said: “No, not at all. My job is not of negotiation. I’m interested to see that the misconception is removed.”

The former president said the plant, scheduled to be commissioned by the end of the year, should generate 1,000 MW of power, while another 1,000 MW capacity plant too would come up in the next three months.

“So around 2000 MW power generation capacity is ready for India.”

Kalam said there was some delay in the project due to the protests. “I went there to study the problems of safety expressed by different people because I’m interested in the field of clean power generation,” he said.

He said the 2,000 MW of power was “very important” for the nation and hence “we have to find a way out” of the impasse.

“I tried to explain how the safety measures have been placed there…because I’m convinced. This is second time I saw that the systems are in place. The new nuclear plant is ready and it should start functioning. We must do everything for it,” he added.