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Chennai: Hundreds of
people from Tamil Nadu's Idinthakarai village, the epicentre of
the protests against the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant (KNPP),
walked into the sea Thursday to give expression to their anger at
moves to load uranium fuel in one of the two reactors.
Buffeted by the waves, the villagers say they will carry out their
'jal satyagraha', peaceful water protest, till 6 p.m.
"We will stay in the sea, we will protest against the loading of
uranium fuel in one of the reactors. No one can stop us from
protesting," Immaculate, one among the many agitators standing in
waist-deep sea water, told IANS.
Forming a human chain in the sea, the villagers from around the
Kudankulam nuclear plant followed a similar 'jal satyagraha' in
Madhya Pradesh against the Omkareshwar Dam on the Narmada.
On Wednesday, protestors ended their 48-hour relay fast in
Idinthakarai village in Tirunelveli district to protest police use
of teargas shells and batons to disperse crowds and the
constabulary conducting house-to-house searches.
The over one year-long protests against the Kudankulam nuclear
power project turned violent Monday, leaving one agitator dead in
police firing in Tuticorin district and several injured in a
police baton charge.
India's atomic power plant operator Nuclear Power Corporation of
India Ltd. (NPCIL) is building two 1,000 MW reactors with Russian
help at Kudankulam since 2001.
Villagers under the People's Movement Against Nuclear Energy (PMANE)
banner have opposed the project for the past one year, fearing for
their safety, especially since the nuclear disaster at Fukushima
in Japan March 2011.
Three days ago, Madhya Pradesh government agreed to give land as
compensation and reduce the height of Omkareshwar Dam, as the
protestors in Khandwa district stood in neck-deep water from Aug
25 to block the dam work.
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