Nuclear plant protesters say talks with expert committee an eyewash

Talks between members of the expert committee appointed by the Centre and the leaders of the People’s Movement Against Nuclear Energy (PMANE) to resolve the 30-day long agitation against the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project broke down on Friday.

The PMANE leaders hardened their stand against the commissioning of the 1,000 MW reactor even as the expert committee members drawn from various scientific and engineering branches tried to allay fears of the local community about a Fukushima-like disaster.

“We tried to clear their doubts on the safety aspects of the reactor. Based on a 51-point memorandum submitted by them during the first meeting, we had prepared a detailed note explaining in detail the steps taken by the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd to ensure foolproof security of the reactors. The PMANE leaders were neither receptive nor positive in their approach,” said RM Iyer, member of the committee.

But Pushparayan, the PMANE leader alleged the 38-page report furnished by the expert committee members was just an eyewash. “It does not address even a single issue highlighted in the 51-point memorandum submitted by us. We are going ahead with the agitation,” he said.