C Shivakumar
Chennai:
The stalemate over the Koodankulam nuclear project could only be resolved if the government stops all work relating to the project and initiates a dialogue with the protesters, according to one of the leaders of the anti-nuclear movement Father X D Selvaraj.Father Selvaraj, one of the key members of the struggle and a member of the Nuclear Alliance of Anti-Nuclear Movement, told Express here on Saturday that church has nothing to do with the nuclear project as has been projected by some vested interests.
“Few priests are involved as they are staying close to Koodankulam and the parishes around the coast. These sort of rumours have been gaining ground since 19888. During 1988, the people who were spreading the rumours claimed the church was against the Russian nuclear reactors as it was the country that did not believe in God,” the priest said.
He said a reasonable compromise could be achieved only if both the groups go with open mind.
The priest slammed Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and said on the one hand he promises the committee, which met him, that he will form a committee to look into the issue and on the other hand he shoots off a letter to the state chief minister J Jayalalithaa to open the nuclear plant.
He said even if the government forms a committee, it should be a mixed group and not a panel of experts from the nuclear industry, who will try to convince there is no danger to the people from the plant.
He slammed for president Abul Kalam at the comparison of nuclear accidents with road accidents. “Try to come to terms with reality. You can’t compare Hiroshima nuclear holocaust with a road or train accident,” Father Selvaraj said.
ndia requires Electricity/Power desperately. Nuclear Power provides a non polluting alternative to Thermal Power which is hugely polluting. Our Hydel power options are limited. We do not have geo-thermal sources and Solar or wind power options are limited and the technology unable to acheive the mass required.
ReplyDeleteThe only option is Nuclear Power. We have a vast pool of engineers & scientists who can ensure that adequate safeguards are maintained. Are people aware that France, Germany and Japan meet a major part of their power consumption through nuclear power?
Another point to be noted is that a commercial-type power reactor simply cannot under any circumstances explode like a nuclear bomb - the fuel is not enriched beyond about 5%.
While nuclear power plants are designed to be safe in their operation and safe in the event of any malfunction or accident, no industrial activity can be represented as entirely risk-free. Incidents and accidents may happen, and as in other industries, adequate safety measures have to be incorporated. For example-More people died and had long term health afflictions due to the Union Carbide Bhopal incident than any nuclear accident ever! Should that one incident make us shut down all Chemical or fertilizer plants & refineries?