PM alleges US NGOs of firing protests in Kudankulam

New Delhi, Feb 24: With the setting up of the proposed Kudankulam nuclear plant case still in doldrums, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has thrown a spanner in the works by accusing several US-based NGOs for fuelling protests against the Russian-aided project in Tamil Nadu.

The ballistic opinion was made by the PM during an interview to an American journal 'Science', when he said, “The atomic energy programme has got into difficulties because these NGOs mostly, I think, based in the US, don't appreciate the need for our country to increase energy. The local NGO-led protests have stalled the commissioning of two 1000 mw nuclear reactors."

There were earlier reports that there were foreign agents who were campaigning vigorously against the Rs 13000-crore Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant (KNPP) in Tirunelveli district in Tamil Nadu. With the PM’s remarks, the prevalence of the foreign forces has achieved new validation. [Read: Koodankulam activist dares PM; says prove charge or quit]

The power plant is expected to be a boon for the acute power shortage the state faces. The plant landed in troubled waters when a massive protest was launched by activists and the local villagers citing that the plant was not safe and that it could meet with the fate of Fukushima power plant in Japan in the aftermath of the tsunami that ravaged the country last year.

The case that the protestors are putting forth is that the lives of the residents there will be endangered in the event of a nuclear accident similar to that of Fukushima. They also fear the long term impact such a catastrophe can cause the people in the area.

In spite of the negotiations and discussions, there was no common ground achieved and the matter is very much alive. The PM has also promised to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa that there would be no compromise on safety at the plant.

OneIndia News