Ticking Bomb:

December 21/2011: There have been widespread protests, roadblocks and hunger strikes in the Kudankulam area in Tirunelveli district, Tamil Nadu, since October against the proposed namesake nuclear power plant. People believe the effects of the plant on the environment would be dreadful. Nuclear waste will pile up and, in case of an accident, there would be nuclear radiation. People must be having in mind pictures of the horrors of the 1984 Bhopal gas tragedy, 1984 Chernobyl nuclear disaster in the erstwhile USSR, and the most recent 2011 Fukushima power plant disaster triggered by a Tsunami in Japan. The accident at America’s Three Mile Island would also not have gone unnoticed. Therefore, the protests are quite natural and expected. What is admirable is that despite acute power crisis in the state, the Tamil Nadu government and especially Chief Minister Jayalalithaa have respected the wishes of the people and opposed the project.

Most Western countries are moving away from nuclear power. They have all realised how hazardous it is. Many have already spelt out their reactor winding up calendars. When all the nations are folding up their nuclear power plants, the childish delight with which nuclear power is being offered and welcomed shows we do not learn anything from other people’s mistakes nor have we any concern for future generations of our country. Without any clue about the reality on the ground, the Central Government has been making claims that nuclear power will remove our entire power crisis. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh declared recently that the first unit of the project will be commissioned within a few weeks and in six months the second unit too would be operational. An impatient Manmohan did not even see any merit in people continuing with the Kudankulam agitation for far too long, as if agitations and protests should be held and withdrawn in a given time frame. The Prime Minister’s statement was preceded by a conflicting agency report from Tamil Nadu the same day that clearly stated the project would be delayed by another two months to May next year. The PM’s surprise declaration has struck terror among the people of the area, compounded by Home Minister P Chidambaram’s statement that the Union Government has taken all steps for successful implementation of the project.

In 1988 then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and USSR President Mikhail Gorbachev had signed the agreement for the proposed plant at Kudankulam. After the collapse of USSR the agreement remained hanging following American objections that it did not fulfil the conditions of the 1992 Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG). Moreover, People’s Movement Against Nuclear Energy of Tamil Nadu too opposed it saying it would have a bad effect on the environment. Still the project was started in 1997. Later in 2008 there were talks with Russia for establishing four additional reactors. The UPA Government attached a lot of importance to it. Incidentally, the India-US civil nuclear deal too was signed the same year.

The UPA Government is far busier signing agreements than thinking about the welfare of the people. Manmohan Singh must be one of the rare leaders who is in power not because of his strength but because of his weakness. He has never seen the plight of ordinary people. In plain terms, he has never won an election. The only time he fought once was from New Delhi constituency, which he lost by a huge margin. And yet, he has been in power for ten years by virtue of being a Rajya Sabha member from Assam. His rule has exceeded that of the popular Atal Bihari Vajpayee. All because of his devotion to the Gandhi family. And people have seen how he rode roughshod over popular sentiment to push through his pet Civil Nuclear Deal.People are now beginning to realise that it is futile to expect foresight from those who come to power at an advanced age. Manmohan must have realised that age is not on his side and as such he does not need to think too far. Lest this be misconstrued as an anti-Congress statement, we would add that the so called revolution by Anna Hazare is nothing but a desperate attempt by an old man with narcissistic tendencies to draw attention unto himself. He believes that a single law will make the country corruption free.

In this context, the step taken by Jayalalithaa, honouring the demands of the people is highly welcome. Her popularity is behind such a step. Although Tamil Nadu industrialists have been clamouring for more power, Jaya’s government has bowed to the wishes of the people. Manmohan and his ilk should learn something from her. They haven’t got the votes so as to finish off the natural resources and the environment in one life time. To keep India secure is their prime responsibility. Those who have sworn by the country’s Constitution should remember that to understand the plight of the people is their prime duty. It would be unpardonable if they forget it.