KKNPP

First dummy fuel assembly removed from reactor

The first of the 163 dummy fuel assemblies in the first reactor of Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project (KKNPP) for the ‘hot run’ was removed on Friday evening following extensive inspections done on the internal components of the Reactor Pressure Vessel (RPV).  The removal of dummy fuel assemblies is expected to last the next five to six days. Once it is completed, mandatory inspection by the Croatian and the German experts will continue using non-destructive techniques to collect some more data. http://www.thehindu.com/news/states/tamil-nadu/article3456888.ece

U.K. MPs sign anti-Kudankulam letter to Manmohan

British MPs and members of the European Parliament have signed a letter from South Asian anti-nuclear groups to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh expressing “deep concern” over human rights and environmental issues around the controversial Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project (KKNPP) which they argue “violates” the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)’s safety guidelines. http://www.thehindu.com/news/article3429248.ece

KKNPP receives three bomb threat letters

http://expressbuzz.com/states/tamilnadu/KKNPP-receives-three-bomb-threat-letters/392462.html

TIRUNELVELI: The Koodankulam Nuclear Power Project (KKNPP) Tuesday received three bomb threat letters. Two threat letters addressed to a contract worker working at KKNPP and another letter send to KKNPP administration were received at the plant on Tuesday, Police sources said.
The sender, Tirunelveli Pothunala Kuzhu (Tirunelveli Public Welfare Committee), said that the contract worker and another worker were sent for planting bombs at KKNPP.
The letter instructs them to plant bombs at KKNPP on May 21 and thus destroy Tamil Nadu and Koodankulam. The two contract workers, of Kovilpatti area, had recently joined work at Koodankulam plant. The letters written in Tamil, apparently had the handwriting of the same person.
The KKNPP administration handed over the bomb threat letters to Koodankulam Police on Wednesday. Preliminary reports showed the letters were send from Kovilpatti area.
Meanwhile, PMANE (People’s Movement Against Nuclear Energy) which is spearheading the anti-Koodankulam protest at Idinthakarai, in a press release on Wednesday said that they had nothing to do with this threat. They asserted that they will continue to be a peaceful and nonviolent movement.

Anti-Nuclear Protests: Prohibitory orders around KKNPP extended

With the Idinthakarai-based anti-Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project (KKNPP) protestors gearing-up for their ultimate agitation to ensure the permanent closure of the ready-to-be-commissioned nuclear power programme within a next few days, Collector R. Selvaraj has extended the prohibitory orders promulgated under Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code to seven km from the KKNPP site. http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/article3402705.ece

Curfew imposed in Kudankulam

TIRUNELVELI: Clamping down on the protestors, the district administration has imposed curfew in the villages falling within a 7km radius surrounding Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant (KKNPP) in Tirunelveli in the wake of resumption of protests. Link: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/13073884.cms

Sec 144 in more areas near KKNPP

TIRUNELVELI: Collector R Selvaraj on Wednesday extended the prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the CrPC, which was effective for the area within a 2 km radius of the Koodankulam Nuclear Power Plant Project (KKNPP), to a radius of 7 km from the plant. …http://expressbuzz.com/states/tamilnadu/Sec-144-in-more-areas-near-KKNPP/390380.html

Officials deny any accident at Kudankulam power plant, but workers get treated for minor burns

TIRUNELVELI: Koodankulam Nuclear Power Plant (KKNPP) site director R S Sundar denied occurrence of any accident at the plant site. There were rumours that a boiler burst at KKNPP on Saturday. But Dr Tamil Arasu from Bharat Hospital in Levnichipuram told Express that two persons, Sivakumar and Esakimuthu of Koodankulam, came to his hospital on Saturday, saying that when they were involved in welding work at KKNPP, the gas leaked, and they suffered burns.They had suffered only minor injures. link: http://expressbuzz.com/states/tamilnadu/No-Accident-at-K-plant-Official/389523.html

Fast at Idinthakarai continues

Fast at Idinthakarai continues - Twenty-four activists of the People’s Movement Against Nuclear Energy (PMANE), who have embarked upon the fourth round of indefinite hunger strike against Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project (KKNPP) from Tuesday onwards, continued their agitation on Wednesday also. Link: http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/article3378784.ece

Nuclear issues – Updates on 28 April 2012

1. Prohibitory order extended till May 31 - The prohibitory order clamped in the areas falling within 2 km radius from the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project (KKNPP) site following the anti-nuke protests has been extended till May 31. http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-tamilnadu/article3358988.ece

2. “No assurance to protesters on documents” - District Collector R. Selvaraj has refuted the claim by the People’s Movement Against Nuclear Energy (PMANE) that it was forced to resume indefinite fast from May 1 as the official machinery had failed to fulfil promises made during talks held at Radhapuram recently. Link: http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/article3359212.ece

3. US-Russia nuke communication system may be used for ensuring cybersecurity - http://www.newkerala.com/news/newsplus/worldnews-12330.html

4. Regan Admin ignored Zia’s lies on N- programme - The Regan administration repeatedly ignored the warning of the US intelligence community that the then Pakistani military ruler General Zia ul-Haq was consistently lying to them on the country’s nuclear programme, latest declassified information have revealed. http://zeenews.india.com/news/world/regan-admin-ignored-zia-s-lies-on-n-programme_772120.html

5. Koodankulam‘s 2nd Nuc plant may run by year-end - The second unit of the Koodankulam Nuclear Power Plant  Project (KKNPP) may become operational by year-end, hinted Atomic Energy Commission chairman and Department of Atomic Energy secretary Srikumar Banerjee. Banerjee, who addressed presspersons along with Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) managing director S K Jain at the KKNPP site on Thursday, said that with the cooperation of  the Tamil Nadu government, work at Unit-1 and Unit-2  was progressing steadily towards criticality. http://ibnlive.in.com/news/koodankulam-plant-unit-may-run-by-yearend/252524-62-128.html

6. ‘Fair deal’ for N-power plant oustees - The Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) and State government are all set to finalise the resettlement and rehabilitation package for the project-affected persons of Kovvada and surrounding areas of Ranasthalam to overcome the opposition to the nuclear power project. Link: http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/article3358684.ece

Press Release: KKNPP Officials & Tamil Nadu Government Negligent

Press Release

KKNPP Officials and Tamil Nadu Government Are Negligent about People’s Safety;

PMANE Demands Emergency Preparedness Training in 30-KM Area

The Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu has confirmed in her letter to the Prime Minister on April 25, 2012 that “nuclear fuel loading is going to take place in the next few days in the first Unit of the [Koodankulam] Plant of 1000 MW capacity.” It is a matter of grave concern that no emergency preparedness training has been given to the local people by the Government of Tamil Nadu, or the Tirunelveli district administration or the Koodankulam Nuclear Power Project (KKNPP) officials. The People’s Movement Against Nuclear Energy (PMANE) demands effective and efficient disaster management training and evacuation exercises for all the people in the 30-km radius of the Koodankulam project before loading the Uranium fuel rods.
As the NPCIL’s Director (Technical) Mr. S. A. Bhardwaj clarified in March 2011 that NPCIL was responsible only for the KKNPP campus disaster management and the Tirunelveli district administration was supposed to deal with the general nuclear power plant emergency preparedness. He also claimed that they had given a Manual of safety drill to the state government/district administration for follow up.

PMANE demanded a copy of the Manual under Right to Information on April 2, 2011, and the PA (General) to the Tirunelveli Collector, Mr. S. Chandrasekaran, has written to us now that he has forwarded our letter to Mr. S. A. Bhardwaj for further action.

In the meantime, the PMANE advocate Mr. M. Radhakrishnan wrote to Mr. R. Bhattacharya, Secretary of Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB), about the KKNPP safety review system. Mr. Bhattacharya has replied on April 17, 2012 that “the Emergency Preparedness Plan (EPP) Manual of KKNPP-1&2 has been reviewed/concurred/approved as appropriate by AERB and District Authorities as per the normal safety review process as laid down in AERB Codes and Guides and final copies of the Manual were submitted by Site to AERB in June 2011.”

If this Manual was prepared in concurrence with the Tirunelveli district authorities almost a year ago, we wonder why the PA (General) to the Tirunelveli Collector is asking the KKNPP officials to answer our RTI query. This shows how careless and lackadaisical the KKNPP officials, Tirunelveli district authorities and the Government of Tamil Nadu are about people’s safety and security.

As this Faustian drama is going on, the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu has asked the Prime Minister for the second time to allocate the entire power from the KKNPP to Tamil Nadu. This “Yes-to-Power-and-Don’t-Care-about-Safety” attitude and approach is dangerous and quite deplorable.

PMANE demands thorough and comprehensive emergency preparedness training and evacuation exercise of international standard to all the people in 30-km radius in Tirunelveli, Kanyakumari and Thoorthukudi districts of Tamil Nadu. This becomes even more relevant and important as the governments of India and Russia are not revealing the liability agreement details to the project-affected people.

PMANE calls upon all the people of Tamil Nadu, Kerala and other parts of India to call the following officials and ask them to give priority to the safety and security of Indian citizens:

· <> Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, Fort St. George, Chennai 600 009, India. Fax No. (+91-44)-28133510; 25676929; 25671441; 28130787.
· <> Mr. Debendranath Sarangi, Chief Secretary; 044-25671555. Fax: 25672304. Email: cs@tn.gov.in
· <> Dr. Sheela Priya, Additional Chief Secretary; 044 25675163. Fax: 25675163. Email: cmcell@tn.gov.in
· <> Prime Minister of India, South Block, Raisina Hill, New Delhi 110 001, India.

The Struggle Committee

People’s Movement Against Nuclear Energy (PMANE)