Sri Lanka concerned over Indian n-plants

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Concerned over nuclear power plants located in south India, the Sri Lankan government plans to raise the issue before the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

According to Sri Lankan minister for Power and Energy Champika Ranawaka, the issue would be raised at the next International Atomic Energy Agency confabulation scheduled in September, Xinhua reported on Sunday.

Sri Lanka is concerned over the impact a nuclear disaster in one of the plants located in southern India could have on Sri Lanka, he said.

Talking to reporters, Ranawaka said that his ministry has already raised the issue with India and called for talks on reaching a disaster mitigating process in the event of a disaster in one of the nuclear plants on the south Indian coast.

Sri Lanka is seeking an agreement with India on nuclear disaster management and India had responded positively, he said.

In the event of a nuclear disaster in India, the Sri Lankan authorities feel their northern town of Mannar will be the hardest hit.

Sri Lanka's power and energy ministry is currently conducting a survey of the coast of Mannar as well as Jaffna also in the north to identify the areas to conduct radiation tests, the minister said.

Sri Lanka wants to be prepared for a nuclear disaster following the incidents in Japan last year where a nuclear plant was damaged as a result of an earthquake and a tsunami.