Group items tagged

"The verdict in the Bhopal gas tragedy case has sparked renewed protests against the Koodankulam Nuclear Power Project (KKNPP) by locals who are prepared to strongly oppose the installation of three more proposed units - III, IV and V - at the atomic power plant. Street campaigns and public meetings have been organised against the new units after villagers, dismayed by the Bhopal judgement, discovered that the officials in the six districts that will be worst affected in case of a disaster at the plant have no emergency preparedness plan. The street campaigns and three public meetings against Koodankulam in Kanyakumari district after the Bhopal verdict attracted a good audience, said National Alliance of Anti-nuclear Movements coordinator S.P. Udayakumar. "The Nadars and Pillaimars earlier kept away from the anti-nuclear and anti-Koodankulam campaigns, calling them anti-development," he noted. "But the Bhopal verdict made them realise how irresponsible our government is towards people's safety.""

Talks on with US, France, Russia to set up more N-reactors Coimbatore, May 29 (PTI) Talks are being held with United States, France and Russia to set up six to eight large nuclear reactors to increase the power generation capacity in the country, Chairman of Atomic Energy Commission said here today. Dr Anil Kakodkar told media that modalities are being worked out to set up the reactors. Besides Koodankulam in Tamil Nadu and Jethapur in Maharashtra, more locations are being identified, he said. Techno-economic details and safety related problems would come up for discussions before finalising the agreements, he said, adding the investment would roughly work out to be Rs six crore to Rs eight crore per MW. Generally, it would take six to seven years for a reactor to become operational. The Government has in principle cleared one each of 700 MW capacity reactor in Kakrapar and Rajasthan thermal power station, Kakodkar said. Besides 500 MW fast breeder reactor at Kalpakkam, three heavy water reactors and two light water reactors at different locations were under different stages of construction, he said