Kudankulam nuke plant: PMANE threatens to go on fast again

Chennai, Apr 22: Three weeks after withdrawing their indefinite hunger strike, anti-nuclear activists protesting against the controversial Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant tonight threatened to resume fast from May 1.

Alleging that the district officials had not kept their promises made last month, People's Movement Against Nuclear Energy said it hoped that the Centre and the state governments would "negotiate" with them again. PMANE co-ordinator SP Udayakumar and his supporters had on March 28 withdrew their nine-day-long indefinite hunger strike after a delegation led by the Tirunelveli Collector agreed to look into their demands.

"We earnestly hope that the Government of India and the Government of Tamil Nadu will resume the negotiations with us, fulfill their commitments and avoid the planned indefinite hunger strike," PMANE said in a statement here. It said that almost a month had passed after that negotiation, "but no promise has been fulfilled so far". "No step has been taken to withdraw all the false cases that are foisted on us; instead, fresh murder charges are framed against the leaders of the PMANE falsely," the statement said.

Protesters, including people of villages in and around Kudankulam, have been demanding scrapping of the Indo-Russian project since August last citing safety concerns. They launched the indefinite fast after the state cabinet on March 19 gave its go ahead for commissioning of the first of the two reactors, but withdrew it after senior district officials assured them that their charter of seven demands would be conveyed to the government for consideration.

Their demands included withdrawing prohibitory orders in all the areas except KNPP premises, immediate withdrawal of cases filed against them, recognition of their struggle against nuclear energy and withdrawal of prohibitory orders in Radhapuram taluk and release of all those arrested for organising protests.

PTI