The Union Government may vouch for nuclear power as a ''clean, safe, and cheap'' source of energy but many people are not ready to buy the theory.
On Sunday, participants in a rally taken out from Town Hall to Freedom Park accused the Union Government of “brainwashing” the people on nuclear energy. They referred to the Centre’s staunch defence of the Koodankulam nuclear power plant.
The rally was taken out as part of “Remembering Fukushima”, a campaign that envisages a nuclear-free world. It was organised jointly by 21 different organisations, including the People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), to express solidarity with the victims of the Fukushima nuclear disaster that occurred exactly a year ago in Japan.
The protesters carried placards in Kannada that read: “No to Fukushima, Hiroshima, Koodankulam, and Jaitapur”. Drumbeaters and puppets were part of the rally.
Remembering the Fukushima disaster, the second biggest nuclear accident in history, the protesters said the sooner the world accepted the truth about nuclear energy the better.
“When other better sources of energy such as solar and wind energy lay untapped, why rely on nuclear energy which can prove catastrophic for human lives as is evident from the Fukushima disaster,” Arati Chokshi, General Secretary, PUCL, state unit, asked.
All proposed nuclear plants at Koodankulam, Jaitapur (Maharashtra), Kovvada (Andhra Pradesh), Gorakhpur (UP), and Mithi Vardi (Gujarat) should be scrapped immediately and the old plants at other places phased out, making India a no-nuclear state, Chokshi demanded.
V T Padmanabhan, a researcher in the health effects of radiation, said that people’s opposition to the Koodankulam project was not “unfounded”. “When fully constructed, the plant will have a long-lasting impact on the health of people living in its vicinity. It’s deeply disturbing that the plant will get all of its fresh water through desalination,” Padmanabhan explained.