Kudankulam tense, as Jaya gives green signal to nuclear plant

Tamil Nadu Monday gave the green signal for the Kudankulam nuclear plant, with an activist saying that 10 people opposing the project have been arrested.

The state cabinet met Monday under Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa and decided in favour of the Kudankulam plant.

Kudankulam is tense following the arrest of activists opposed to the nuclear power plant (Photo: Kebiston K)

"The government studied the reports of various expert panels and has come to the conclusion that the plant is safe. We are of the opinion that there is no chance of a massive earthquake or tsunami occurring there. I ask all parties to extend their support for the commissioning of the Kudankulam plant at the earliest," said Jayalalithaa.

India's atomic power plant operator, Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL), is building two 1,000 MW reactors at Kudankulam in Tirunelveli district, around 650 km from here.

In Kudankulam, "10 people, including advocate S. Sivasubramanian and Rajalingam, have been arrested,” said Pushparayan, convener of the Coastal People's Federation and a leader of People's Movement Against Nuclear Energy (PMANE).
 
Police officials declined to confirm or deny the arrest.

On Monday morning, tension gripped Kudankulam and surrounding areas.

Hearing the news of the arrests, activists at Idinthakarai village began ringing the church bell to mobile the villagers. Leading activists are in this fishing village.

"Around 3,000 policemen were deployed in Kudankulam and surrounding areas," Pushparayan said.

He said the heavy police deployment deterred them from accepting an invitation from the Tiruvelveli District Collector to meet him.

Two PMANE leaders - S.P.Udayakumar and M.Pushparayan- have started their indefinite fast demanding closure of the atomic power plant. - IANS

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