Green activists and intellectuals of Uttara Kannada district in coastal Karnataka have rallied to seek an independent inquiry into the recent radiation leak at the Kaiga Atomic Power Station (KAPS).
The activists, led by Ananth Hegde Ashisar, chairman of the Karnataka Task Force on Western Ghats, and the Parisara Samrakshna Samiti (PSS), a non-government organisation (NGO), want the central and state governments to set up an independent commission immediately to solve the mystery behind the contamination of a drinking water dispenser in the first unit of the KAPS on November 24 with a radioactive isotope, Tritium, used in the nuclear reactor.
The state government had set up the task force to oversee the protection of the rich bio-diversity hot spot in the Western Ghats, while the PSS has been fighting against projects endangering the eco-system in the coastal district of the state.
“More than conducting a health check-up of the affected employees, there is an urgent need to study the topographical conditions of the Western Ghats’ eco-system, including the people inhabiting the region and the flora and fauna in the bio-diversity hot-spot,” Ashisar told Business Standard.
The activists want scientific organisations such as the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), the Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) and atomic energy experts to be included in the committee for conducting the probe into the mishap.
“Besides the people around the project, the rich flora and fauna in the Western Ghats, soil and water bodies like Kali river in the region have been exposed to radiation effects ever since the plant started operation over a decade ago. The people of this region should also be tested for radiation effects,” Ashisar asserted.
As the contents of Tritium remain present in the environment for over 12 years, it is imperative to check the health of people living in the shadow region of the plant. “We will launch a campaign against the nuclear power project, if the governments do not take necessary steps to ensure the safety of the people in the next few days,” he stated.
The PSS submitted a memorandum to the state government for a separate health check of people dwelling in and around Kaiga.
“As the people are living 15-20km in the downstream of the Kaiga project drink water from Kali river, which is polluted with the effluents from the power plan, it is necessary to check their health as the live by the river water,” PSS president S J Shiddarkar pointed out.
A activist lawyer Balakrishna Pai also urged the state government to conduct a detailed survey of the area surrounding KAPS to assess the extent of radiation levels in the environment.
Meanwhile, the state police, who had arrested one contract labourer at Kaiga for interrogation have released after recovering six SIM cards from him. However, it is not understood why he had kept so many SIM cards in his possession.
