TIRUNELVELI: More than 7,000 people on Sunday observed a fast against the Koodankulam Nuclear Power Plant (KNPP) at Idinthakarai and vowed to intensify the struggle if the Centre did not scrap it. The fast will continue until Tuesday, they said. People, including fishermen, from 13 villages participated in the fast. The fast protest was led by co-ordinator of People’s Movement Against Nuclear Energy, S P Udhayakumar, a member of the delegation that had met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh recently.Udhayakumar told Express that work at KNPP had not been suspended so far. “So, we staged the token hunger protest today. During the fast, representatives of people from various areas met and decided to continue the fast till Tuesday. We have urged the State government to again press the Centre to suspend the work at KNPP based on the (State) Cabinet’s resolution, and the Centre should respect the resolution.” Udhayakumar said the next course of action would be decided on Tuesday. He warned that the fast was only “a beginning of their long struggle” against nuclear power and it would be intensified if the project was not scrapped. After meeting the Prime Minister, the activists had claimed it was their first victory. But now they are irked by Singh’s letter to CM J Jayalalithaa seeking her help to complete KNPP.Udhayakumar said the contents of the letter, dashed off on the same day when they met Singh, only showed that the “Centre is not concerned about the safety and security of the Tamils.” Despite the State Cabinet’s resolution for halting work on the project, the Centre had chosen to go ahead with it. “This is painful,” he said.The renewed protest comes two days after Manmohan Singh assured an all-party delegation, including anti-KNPP activists, that an expert group would be set up to allay their safety concerns.The Prime Minister had told the delegation, led by State Finance Minister O Panneerselvam, that nothing would be done that would threaten the safety or livelihood of any section of society, particularly those living in the vicinity of the project.But pitching for pursuing atomic power, Singh in the letter to Jayalalithaa had listed a series of safety measures and clearances obtained for the project and said he counted on her support for its timely implementation.
Comments
0 comment