Jayalalithaa's U-turn: approves Kudankulam nuclear plant

Chennai: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa began crackdown on anti-nuclear activists at the Kudankulam nuclear power plant on Monday. Nine Kudankulam protestors have been detained. The Tamil Nadu government has also got the nuclear power plant site cleared.

Seeking to end the impasse over the Kudankulam nuclear plant issue, the Jayalalilthaa government in Tamil Nadu on Monday gave the go ahead to the controversial project and announced a Rs 500 crore special development package for the area where it is located.

"In accordance with (today's) cabinet decision, immediate steps will be taken (to facilitate commissioning) of the plant," Chief Minister Jayalalithaa said in a statement, breaking her silence over the issue.

She also sought the cooperation of political parties and all concerned to immediately resume work at the plant in Tirunelveli district, stalled following protests since September 2011, spearheaded by the People's Movement Against Nuclear Energy (PMANE).

Meanwhile, the convenor of the protest SP Udayakumar has begun a fast unto death.

Udayakumar had earlier sent a legal notice to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for his reported statement that the protests against the Kudankulam nuclear power plant were funded by the US.

The cabinet decided to allocate Rs 500 crore for locals to set up among others, a cold storage to store fish catch, construct houses, laying of roads and repairing mechanised fishing boats of local fishermen, she said.

The decision comes a day after completion of polling at Sankarankoil, which falls in the same district.

Jayalalithaa was earlier opposed to the nuclear power plant.

Villagers in Kudankulam, Idinthakarai and nearby areas fear for their lives and safety in case of a nuclear accident. Their agitation, led by the People's Movement Against Nuclear Energy (PMANE), had put a stop to the project work, delaying the commissioning of the first unit originally slated for December, 2011.

Courtesy: IBNLive