Jayalalithaa clears K-plant

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People of power-starved Tamil Nadu heaved a collective sigh of relief Monday as chief minister J. Jayalalithaa gave the go-ahead for immediate commissioning of Koodankulam Nuclear Power Plant (KKNPP) in Tirunelveli district. Tamil Nadu is facing a power deficit of around 4,000 MW. The plant will give it an immediate relief of 463 MW after the first unit is commissioned possibly in the next three months.

The green signal comes a day after an incident-free bypoll in the Sankarankoil constituency in the district.

Ms Jayalalithaa released a statement soon after chairing a cabinet meeting at the secretariat that immediate steps would be taken to commission the plant stalled since September last year following protests. She sought cooperation of all sections.

The state cabinet also decided to allot Rs500 crore for development activities — a cold storage for fish, construction of houses, laying of roads and repairing mechanised fishing boats of local fishermen — in Koodankulam.

On the various measures taken to allay fears of locals, CM said teams of experts appointed by central and state governments had said the plant was safe.

According to reports submitted by the teams, the plant adheres to all safety norms and Atomic Energy Commission approved it only after several safety tests.

The report of the state expert team said there was no history of earthquakes or tsunamis in Koodankulam and recommended creating awareness among locals.

Meanwhile, police cracked down arresting 11 leaders of anti-nuke protestors at Idinthakarai near the plant.

PMANE (People’s Movement Against Nuclear Energy) spearheading the protests that entered 217th day upped the ante in response, with its convener S.P. Udayakumar and another leader M.

Pushparayan launching an indefinite fast in the afternoon. They condemned the arrests and asked the state to withdraw support to commissioning of the plant, even as a large crowd gathered at the protest venue.

ADGP (law and order) S. George is camping at Idinthakarai with a huge police force. Sources said more arrests were likely Monday late night.

K-unit to ease power crisis [2]