The Jaitapur nuclear power project has drawn blood even before its boundary wall is ready. One person was killed in police firing on Monday, which by all accounts was unnecessary to disperse peaceful protesters. There was arson in Madban, at the site’s centre, which gutted some grass and a part of a tiny makeshift shed belonging to the Nuclear Power Corporation of India. The police went berserk and intruded into...

The Maharashtra government will conduct a magisterial inquiry into Monday's police firing at Jaitapur, Home Minister R.R. Patil announced in the Assembly on Tuesday. The violent fallout of protests against the proposed nuclear power plant was hotly discussed in both Houses of the Legislature with the Opposition accusing the government of highhandedness and totalitarianism. Mr. Patil maintained that the police resorted to firing when all other methods of controlling the mob...

A rethink of UPA's nuclear push is ruled out. The riotous protests and death at Jaitapur or the disaster at Fukushimi might slow the rollout of nuclear power plants but it won't derail UPA's plans of a nuclear thrust to the Indian economy, sources in the government told TOI. The Fukushima impact on Indian shores has been to force the nuclear establishment to do a bit of closed door review but...

The Communist Party of India (Marxist) on Tuesday condemned the police firing at people protesting against the Jaitapur nuclear power project. It demanded adequate compensation for the kin of the deceased and those injured. In a statement, the party said the local people had opposed the location of the plant in their area and refused to accept the forceful acquisition of their lands. It said the Jaitapur project to be set...

A day after one person was killed in police firing during a protest against the proposed nuclear plant in Jaitapur, Union Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh said his Ministry could not be blamed for the incident. He accused the Shiv Sena of politicising the issue. “What happened in Jaitapur is most depressing. It caused me great anguish. There is a form of democratic protest, which we must all accept and acknowledge. But...