A rally organised by The People’s Union of Civil Liberties to mark the one-year anniversary of the Fukushima nuclear tragedy.
Huge clown-like contraptions, fire-breathing men and sloganeering greeted onlookers late Sunday afternoon outside Town Hall. It was a rally organised by The People’s Union of Civil Liberties (PUCL), Bangalore chapter, to mark the one-year anniversary of the Fukushima nuclear tragedy.
The rally, which saw participation of 40-odd people, was part of the three-day event organised by PUCL, calling for a nuclear-free world. Arati Chokshi, general secretary PUCL, said they were building solidarity for the cause. They distributed more than 4,000 pamphlets, seeking to create awareness on the issue.
As for the two huge puppet-like contraptions that danced through the rally, Choksi says that they represented America. “America is the one country that has been supplying nuclear fuel to other countries,” she said.
Among those participating in the rally was Shankar Sharma, power policy analyst, who said that nuclear energy did not help the global power requirement much. “We should be asking ourselves if nuclear energy is really that necessary. We have seen time and again through these disasters in Chernobyl and Fukushima that this is a dangerous path. We should look at other options to address the energy deficit,” he said, adding that only 2.5% of the total power consumed in the country is supplied through nuclear energy, which is extremely hazardous.
Lessons from Japan
“We need to take the lessons from Japan, which has turned from a country that used to derive 30% of its energy needs from nuclear plants to a strong proponent against nuclear energy,” he added.
Sharma also said that the recent appointment of nuclear scientist Anil Kakodkar as the chairman of the Solar Energy Corporation of India was a mistake on the part of the government.
“This is the biggest joke. These people won’t even be open to exploring new options as they are strong proponents of nuclear energy. An ordinary citizen with no qualifications will probably end up doing a better job than Kakodkar,” he quipped.
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