Number of nuclear plants have been operating around the world for many years now with some countries like France receiving around 75% of its power requirement from nuclear power plants.
While some accidents have taken place in the nuclear plants in the past across the world, certainly they are not more than the number of accidents that have taken place in other type of power plants or chemical plants or aircraft accidents etc.
However, the protest against nuclear power plant in Koodankulam is very unusual and peculiar. The protestors are innocent fisher men , most of whom do not have much of education and cannot understand the intricacies of nuclear technology and safety issues. What is even more unusual is that the religious bodies such as church and priests belonging to church have openly associated themselves with the agitation by the fisher men, though it is not known that the church have opposed nuclear power plants in any other part of the world. It is not known that church have protested against nuclear power plants in France, where around 75% of power is nuclear power.
There are number of human rights activists and fringe political parties who have also invited themselves to the agitation area and now want Koodankulam nuclear plant to be scrapped, though they have been silent for over ten years when the plant was under installation. There are also a few people including some ex army men, retired bureaucrats, who have signed petitions against nuclear power plant though they were never known to have protested during their long years of service in government jobs when several nuclear power plants have been set up in the country before.
Now, it is said that the government of India and those scientists and engineers in charge of the nuclear power plants should explain the safety aspects to the protestors(fishermen) and convince them about the safety issues of the Koodankulam nuclear plant. But, the scientists and nuclear power plant establishments have been repeatedly stressing and explaining about the safety aspects, have spoken in several conferences and interactive meetings Further, several safety committees set up by the government as well as the statutory bodies have cleared the project from safety angle. Madras High court has also cleared the project.
The problem is that while everyone of the questions raised by the protestors (not fisher men who may not really understand the issues), but those who have taken the leadership position in the protest movement, have been answered by the scientists , the same questions for which explanations have been given are being repeated again.
The government of India has said that some overseas interests have been involved in funding and encouraging the protestors for whatever reasons.
Now, what is the solution for this problem ? If the protestors would not accept the verdict of the judiciary and would disown everyone who would support the nuclear power plant however well intentioned they may be, then how to convince the protestors?
The safety history of nuclear power plants in India which have been operating for decades now are very satisfactory. The nuclear engineers and scientists are competent and dedicated people, who have received international acclaim. They are as much citizens of India and quite a few of them are natives of the region where Koodankulam nuclear power plant is located. Is there any reason to think that all these scientists and technologists who are as much concerned about the welfare of the society as anyone else, should be suspected by the anti nuclear agitators ?
In some of the complicated technology matter, there is no alternative for the society other than accepting the recommendations of the scientists and technologists. Protestors cannot think that they know better than the scientists themselves on scientific matter.
All the technological progress in the world, which has made sustained economic and industrial growth possible, have happened only because the governments and the people have accepted the opinion of the scientists about the safety aspects and overall advantages and have believed them. Should Koodankulam nuclear agitators be different?
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