Amidst agitation by the villagers against the 2,000-Mw Kudankulam nuclear project, the Nuclear Power Corporation (NPC) has sought the intervention of the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and senior bureaucrats so that emergency and maintenance work at the plant site continues unabated. This was necessitated as NPC was finding it difficult to send a batch of 50 scientists and engineers daily into the plant. Villagers mobilising under the banner of people's movement against nuclear energy have decided to launch a state-wide agitation against the project. Besides, NPC fears that it would need at least six months to mobilise 6,000-contract labourers, who have already left for their respective states in the wake of the agitation, for the completion of work that has come to a standstill.
NPC on Sunday reiterated its inability to completely stop the maintenance and emergence services at the plant, which has been demanded by the villagers. The first phase of 1,000 Mw is 99 per cent ready for fuel loading, while the second phase of equal capacity is 97 per cent complete.
NPC official, who has been forced to cooperate with the senior management from the company’s guest house in the residential colony, told Business Standard: “The morale of almost 1,000 scientists and employees of Kudankulam nuclear project is quite low. They are unable to digest one thing that as a public servant of a government-run company, they are unable to report, while the agitators are doing everything to pursue their demand. Every day, at around 7 am, employees inquire whether or not they will be able to report to their duties. We are managing to dispatch a batch of 50 engineers and scientists into the plant for maintenance and emergency services in the early hours. For how many days can this be done.” The official said it is high time that some direction is provided by the prime minister or the senior bureaucrats to the state government so that the present stalemate is over.
The official said the Russian scientists and engineers have been instructed not to leave the residential colony. In fact, they are also concerned over the present state of affairs. He also mentioned that the experts committee appointed last week by the central government would take its own sweet time to submit its findings.
Meanwhile, Pushpa Rayan, member of the steering committee of people's movement against nuclear energy, said: “We will launch a state-wide agitation against the Kudankulam project from Monday onwards. We will mobilise villagers at Nagercoil and Tiruchendur and similar such mobilisation will be made across the state. We will launch a state-wide awareness campaign for teachers, students and general public against the project and also organise bike and cycle march. We will also organise debates. The villagers are not ready to accept anything but the scrapping of the Kudankulam project.”