Jaitapur protests: Policemen hurt in stone pelting

Hundreds of villagers agitating against the proposed Jaitapur Nuclear Power Project at Madban village in Maharashtra's Ratnagiri district on Monday pelted stones on policemen, resulting in injury to a few personnel.

"Protesters pelted stones at the policemen in which some cops were injured. The police had to open fire in the air to disperse the crowd," said Ratnagiri Superintendent of Police Pradeep Raskar.

Hundreds of people from Madban, Jaitapur, Nate and other villages in the district on Monday held spontaneous protests against the 9,900 MW project, said Vaishali Patil, activist and member of Konkan Bachao Samiti, an non-government organisation opposing the project.

The project with six nuclear rectors of 1,600 MW each would be one of the largest nuclaer-power projects in the world. "We are demanding the state government scrap the project but it is so adamant. It is not worried about a repeat of Japan's nuclear crisis here," Patil said.

Patil said despite protests, the government had begun its work due to which villagers resorted to protests.