Govt Says Facility Adheres To All Safety Aspects

Emphasising the importance of safety at the Kudankulam nuclear power plant, the Supreme Court on Thursday cautioned the Centre that it could even stall the commissioning of the plant in case it was

The safety of the Kudankulam nuclear power plant and storage of nuclear waste is of prime concern that should be addressed by the Union Government, the Supreme Court told the Centre on Thursday.

Hearing petitions relating to the plant, a Bench of Justices K. S. Radhakrishnan and Deepak Misra told Attorney-General G. E. Vahanvati, Solicitor-General Rohinton Nariman and Additional Solicitor-General Mohan Parasaran, “From the first day, we are saying that safety is the most important issue, people’s lives should be protected.”

Kudankulam plant is absolutely safe even without the 17 recommendations of the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board, says NPCIL

During a hearing in the Supreme Court on Thursday on petitions related to the Kudankulam plant, Prashant Bhushan, appearing for the petitioners, argued that the plant got a vague environmental clearance in 1989 when the site was not decided, no Environment Impact Assessment was done and no public hearing was conducted which was mandatory under law. He said three critical changes were made in the plant.

The Supreme Court told the Centre today that it will not hesitate to stop Kudankulam nuclear power plant if mandatory safety measures are not being been taken care of.

Kottar diocese Bishop Peter Remugius has urged the State as well as the Centre to take immediate steps to allay the fear among the fisherfolk regarding the commissioning of the nuclear plant at Kudankulam.

When he was contacted about his stand on the power project as the fishermen from the eastern coast had stayed off the sea for the 14th day today, the bishop said it was unfair on the part of the police to resort to lathi charge and bursting of tear gas shells against fishermen at Idinthakarai.

M. Appavu writes to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh

Former MLA of Radhapuram M. Appavu has urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to stop the filling-up of enriched uranium fuel in the first reactor of Kudannkulam Nuclear Power Project until credible arrangements are made to send the nuclear waste to be generated at KKNPP back to Russia and adequate financial allocations are ensured to give compensation to radiation victims in case of nuclear mishaps.

Atomic Energy Commission chairman R K Sinha said the first unit of 1,000 Mw at the Kudankulam nuclear plant in Tamil Nadu should be operational by the end of the calender year.

Fuel loading, deferred after the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) directed upgrade of safety applications, was on and would be complete in one and a half months. “However, it will not be possible to give you an exact time when the first unit would be commissioned, especially in view of further directives from AERB and also because of a case pending in the Supreme Court.

Petitioner draws parallel with crackdown on Baba Ramdev and his supporters

The Madras High Court Bench here on Monday sought to know the State government’s stand on a couple of public interest litigation petitions seeking a judicial probe into the pitched battle between the police and anti-nuclear agitators at Idinthakarai and Kudankulam in Tirunelveli district on September 10. Acceding to the request of Additional Advocate General K. Chellapandian to grant time for filing a counter affidavit on behalf of the State, a Division Bench comprising Justice K. Suguna and Justice M. Vijayaraghavan adjourned hearing of the cases to Friday.

Soon, “significant events” taking place during construction and commissioning of a nuclear plant will also have to be reported to Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB).