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India is building a nuclear reactor 26 kilometers away from a 2005 volcanic eruption
http://atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/NB29Df02.html
Singh stirs a nuclear hornets' nest
By Neeta Lal
Feb 29, 2012
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has stirred a hornets' nest over the already contentious US$3 billion Kudankulam nuclear power plant in the southern state of Tamil Nadu with accusations that American and Scandinavian non-governmental organizations were the instigators of protests against the Russian-aided project.
In an interview last week with Science, an American journal, Singh stated that India’s atomic energy program "has got into difficulties because these NGOs mostly, I think, based in the US, don't appreciate the development challenges that our country faces."
The insinuation that certain foreign bodies were trying to derail India’s plans to augment its energy output created an immediate backlash, with the anti-nuclear lobby demanding Singh to either "prove his charges or step down". People's Movement Against Nuclear Energy (PMANE) - which has been opposing the 2,000 MW power station since its inception in 1988 - threatened to sue the Prime Minister's Office for linking the protests to US foreign funding. The rightist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) opposition quickly leveraged the issue to put the ruling United Progressive Alliance on the defensive.
"It's a very important statement that the PM has made," BJP senior leader Arun Jaitley said. "The government must make facts in regard to this public so that the veracity of it is known to the people of India and they are in a position to define what is correct," he said.
~snip~
However, a counter report prepared by a panel of experts, formed by the PMANE, contradicted the government by saying there is a need for further studies on the volcanic hazard in the areas surrounding the power plant. These areas, argued PMANE, had experienced volcanic eruptions in 1998, 1999, 2001 and in 2005 and the nearest eruption occurred just 26 kilometers away from the project site.
3 replies
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= new reply since forum marked as read
Keeps all the destruction in one zone and not all over the world.
This article should be thrown into the trashcan for pandering such obvious lies.
What volcanic eruption?
Pray tell.
These areas, argued PMANE, had experienced volcanic eruptions in 1998, 1999, 2001 and in 2005 and the nearest eruption occurred just 26 kilometers away from the project site.
^^ Utter Bullshit
.
There was NO Eruption..volcanic or otherwise near this area...the last eruption India had was in the Andaman islands...
and that is a remote island chain belonging to India, closer to Thailand and Burma than India itself.
Its about 1300 km away from this nuclear site in mainland India.
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About time these idiot NGO's stop posting such lies. India will build the dozens reactors it has planned to build, and there is nothing these ignoramus can do about it. Later reactors will be Thorium based, and much more efficient and suited for India's needs. The last thing we need is some Foreign funded Evangelical Christian missionaries poking their nose into this issue...they have already done enough damage with the Billions they get for "saving" the souls of Asians.
the past paragraph from the article
The current impasse once again also spotlights the larger debate between the pro- and anti-nuclear lobby groups about power generation in a country that desperately needs clean power to sustain its economic growth. Experts, including former president and scientist APJ Abdul Kalam have been advocating that India should go for "clean" nuclear energy, including that from the Kudankulam atomic plant that is safe. Kalam had warned that fossil fuel burnt by states - equivalent to 30 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide - would damage the Earth, so nuclear plants present a good option to meet the energy requirements of the country's billion-plus people
^^ For those who do not know about India, let me spell out the effects of the stuff mentioned in the last Paragraph. Dr Abdul Kalam ( Ex President of India), is one of the most respected people in the entire nation. He was; by all means the MOST popular Indian president of all time. Loved by all Indians for his irreplaceable contributions towards making India a nuclear power, and a space power; he is considered to be a role model by millions of young Indians. The very fact that he openly advocates for nuclear power sealed the death knell for these protests. Believe me..for every 1 person who supports these "protestors", a million would support Kalam, one of the most humble, yet smartest people India had the fortune to have.
The fact that Mr Kalam grew up as a poor fisherman in the same area where this nuclear power plant is being built, would add more credence to his support!
