The ongoing nuclear incidents involving the Fukushima reactor in earthquake/tsunami affected japan has posed serious questions already to the nuclear industry in India as well. Prabir Purkayastha writes. As I write these lines, it appears that japan’s Fukushima Daiichi plant is moving towards a core meltdown as it has lost control of the cooling system. An explosion has blown the wall of one of the buildings there and radioactive iodine and...

The tsunami-triggered nuclear crisis in japan will not slow down India's nuclear power plans. The Government on Tuesday made it clear that there would be no rethink on the Jaitapur nuclear power plant in Maharashtra. Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh who has been criticised by civil society groups, for clearing the proposed 9,900 MW nuclear power project in the eco-sensitive Western Ghats, said his ministry would put in additional safeguards as part...

All food items imported from japan will be checked for radiation at the ports before being allowed into the country. Authorised officers of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) have been asked to get all food items originating from japan tested at the ports and airports. Food items transported from March 11 will be tested. The Revenue Department has also been requested to advise all the customs points, which clear...

Calling for an immediate halt to the Jaitapur nuclear power project in Maharashtra, the Communist Party of India(Marxist) on Tuesday said environment clearance should be withdrawn and the entire issue re-examined in the backdrop of the developments in tsunami-hit japan. In a statement, the Polit Bureau said a party delegation which recently visited the project area confirmed that locals were totally opposed to the location of the plant and to forcible...

Fukushima has become part of the local lexicon at Jaitapur. As news of the apocalypse-like situation in japan reaches the far corners of villages in and around the area, residents have increased their agitation against the proposed 9,900 mw nuclear power plant. Jaitapur area falls in the seismic zone 3 category, and data from the Geological Survey of India shows that between 1985 and 2005, there were 92 earthquakes. The biggest earthquake...