Kaiga nuclear plant’s safety disputed by many

NGOs and activists dismissed the statements of Union minister of state for science, technology and earth sciences, Ashwini Kumar, as hogwash when he said on Sunday that the Kaiga nuclear plant is safe from natural disasters.

“How can the minister give such a statement? We know what happened in Japan and how much radiation had leaked due to the Tsunami onslaught. What has the government done to make the Kaiga nuclear plant safer for millions of people?” asked BV Pai, an anti-nuclear proliferation activist.

“We should be doubly sure about these things, as terrible things can happen.  The Nuclear Power Corporation of India authorities was eager to get the safety certification from the International nuclear safety certifying agencies, but we don’t think it’s true,” said Pai.

“The Kaiga authorities are hiding facts about the safety aspect. I shall raise it in the parliament in the next session” said MP Ananth Kumar Hegde.

“Due to radiation leaks, many people residing around Kaiga are suffering from different health disorders and the local health authorities have opined that most of them were suffering from various types of cancers.  I wanted a health profile to be made in 20 villages around Kaiga,” Hegde said.

However, in a recent statement, the site director of the Kaiga Generating Station JP Gupta had clarified that there are no health problems related to radiation and that the Kaiga station was absolutely safe even in natural disasters like earthquakes and tsunamis.

“We have an automatic device that will shut down the plant within minutes of any natural disaster that will endanger the Kaiga nuclear reactors,” he said.