As the local people determinedly continue to resist the commissioning of the kudankulam reactors, the statements of the nuclear establishment have acquired a desperate edge. The chief of the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) claimed that a “foreign hand” was behind the protests. The former President, A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, while assuring the locals that the reactors were “100% safe,” also wrote an article in The Hindu (“Special Essay,”...

-The Hindu   Union Minister of State for Prime Minister's Office V. Narayanasamy has expressed firm optimism of finding a solution to the stalemate in the kudankulam nuclear power plant by the end of next month. Addressing a press conference here, the Minister said the first round of talks between the expert committee appointed by the Centre and protesters' campaigning against the project on November 8 was “purposeful.” The local community and the protesting...

Suggests Rs. 200-crore plan to win villagers over to kudankulam Even as a committee constituted by the Centre to address fears about the safety of the kudankulam nuclear power project was set to meet an experts panel of the Tamil Nadu government on Tuesday, the former President, A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, has recommended a massive Rs. 200-crore special development plan for villages around the project site. The 15-member central panel, consisting of experts...

-PTI Making some headway towards resolution of the kudankulam issue, anti-plant protesters on Tuesday decided to nominate two of their members in the expert committee to be set up by the Tamil Nadu government. The protesters, however, made it clear that they would not hold talks with the 15-member committee set up by the Centre till the work at the kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant (KNPP) was stopped. S.P. Udhayakumar, the movement’s leader, told...

-DNA   A day after rocket scientist APJ Abdul Kalam backed the kudankulam N-power plant, another top scientist has come out in its support. “Tell them bluntly that there is nothing to be worried of and their interests would be protected by the government. Also explain to them in no uncertain terms that the displaced persons and their families would be looked after by the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd,” PK Iyengar,...