Communication gap cause of protests at Koodankulam N-plant'-18/10/11

Communication gap cause of protests at Koodankulam N-plant'

Last updated on: October 18, 2011 10:11 IST


The Koodankulam Nuclear Power Project has been jinxed ever since it was thought of. It was first talked about in 1988 when the Soviet Union agreed to build a plant in India and also supply it fuel. The Soviet Union broke up soon after.

Years later, India decided to go ahead with the project with some other country as the collaborator. Russia intervened and said it would take over from where the Soviet Union left off.

Land was purchased but for years together there was only a huge wall around the huge site. In 2000 work started in earnest. A decade later the plant was ready. In late 2005 there was a bomb explosion at the Koodankulam police station. Nothing happened to the plant though.

Even when the Tsunami struck coastal Tamil Nadu, this area was saved by Sri Lanka, which took the brunt of the giant waves.

Since 2009 the KNPP regularly puts out press reports that they will be going critical in the next three months. But this has never happened.

For the last two months, protests have been on in Koodankulam against the project. The protests have been supported by the Tamil Nadu chief minister; while the prime minister has sent his emissary.

Swapnesh Kumar Malhotra is the head of the public awareness division of the department of atomic energy, government of India. He has been in this post for the past 22 years. Malhotra proudly tells you that he renamed his department because the earlier name 'publicity division' sounded like they were making movies or selling biscuits.