Inhabitants of 35 villages surrounding the Kaiga plant gathered at Mallapura Hinduwada to discuss the project.
Even while the outcry against Kudankulam nuclear project has not died down in Tamil Nadu, protests have already begun in Karnataka when Kaiga Nuclear Power Generating station announced its plans to add two more units (Unit 5 and Unit 6) to its existing four units.
On Monday morning, inhabitants of 35 villages surrounding the Kaiga plant, alongside activists and elected representatives, gathered at Mallapura Hinduwada to discuss the project. Since there were more cons than pros, the gathering unanimously resisted the move and sent its opposition to the government.
Last month, just before the decision to set up two more units, officials from the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) surveyed the region around the Kaiga plant.
They identified 43 villages that should be given away for the plant’s infrastructure facilities.
“That was yet another gimmick played by the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL), to lure us into accepting the proposal for setting up their Units 5 and 6,” said Ramananda Nayak, former zilla panchayat member.
An NPCIL official refuted this statement. “It is not how people make it to be. We have indeed planned for more civic infrastructure projects in all the villages around the Kaiga nuclear plant. It so happens that the progress was slow but we have certainly achieved 60% progress in terms of development. With the NDMA identifying more villages, we are bound to extend more facilities to them,” he said.
“Our primary concern was the road connectivity from each of the 43 villages to the Major District Roads (MDRs) or to state highways and to keeps them in good condition perennially. The Karwar-Kaiga-Mallapura road has to be widened. If possible, it has to be made four lanes like the state highway. Second, all interior roads should be able to take emergency vehicles to every village quickly and safely,” said a coordinating officer of the NDMA in Uttara Kannada district.
However, Uday Naik, vice-president of Uttara Kannada Zilla Panchayat, has welcomed the voice of the dissent.
“We do not know if it was even safe to add two more units in Kaiga. After what happened in Japan during the tsunami, everybody is apprehensive about the safety of the units,” he said.
The village chiefs pointed out that the primary right to give permission to any construction lies with the Panchayat Raj institutions.
“When we had called the Kaiga officials to the meeting to give us details about the proposed units, they did not even bother to attend it,” said Shyamnath Naik, member of the Kadra Grama Panchayat.
The village chiefs have returned to their villages with a resolve to collect more opinions from the public.
They advised the panchayats not to give permission to any developmental activities with respect to the construction of two new units.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}