The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Visakhapatnam News : Shelve Jaitapur, Kovvada N-plants: FBV

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Thursday, Mar 17, 2011
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Visakhapatnam

Shelve Jaitapur, Kovvada N-plants: FBV

Special Correspondent

VISAKHAPATNAM: The Forum for Better Visakha (FBV) has urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to shelve Jaitapur and Kovvada nuclear power projects proposed by the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) in the wake of the recent nuclear disaster in Japan.

Forum convener and former Union Energy Secretary E.A.S. Sarma, in a letter to Dr. Singh, said it would be better not to take up the two power projects in Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh by learning lessons from Japan.

He said the full details of the nuclear disaster in Japan were slowly unfolding. There was more to come in the coming days. The effects of radiation were going to last for generations, he said.

Welcoming Dr. Singh's statement in Parliament that a ‘safety audit' of all the atomic reactors in India had already been completed, he said there were vexatious questions that bothered many.

Mr. Sarma expressed his anguish that the Prime Minister had not yet talked about providing autonomy to Atomic Energy Regulatory Board and making it accountable to Parliament directly. “You have not initiated any amendment to Atomic Energy Act to make it more people friendly by bringing in public disclosure clauses. Switzerland, Germany, and a few other, countries took into account their peoples' concerns and promptly announced a freeze on additions to nuclear power. The rulers of those countries are certainly responsive to the public concerns. The life of an ordinary Indian is as valuable as that of a national in Switzerland or Germany,” he said.

“However, we seem to be still dragging our feet on announcing an action that the others have already taken. You should not be totally guided by the technical personnel of DAE in deciding what is good for the public,” he urged the Prime Minister.

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