Koodankulam nuke plant safest, says Russian envoy

Upset over the prolonged delay in the commissioning of the Koodankulam Nuclear Power Plant, Russia on Wednesday said it should "start working now" and there should be a "movement" to start the plant.

"The machines have to start working now because after several weeks, you will have to spend much more time and money to maintain them. You will pay for nothing. They will be idle but you have to pay for their maintenance," Russian Ambassador to India Alexander M Kadakin said in an interview.

Describing the anti-KNPP protests as India's "internal matter", he expressed hope that the government would be able to sort it out soon.

"We are in close touch with the central government. We are not pressing and we cannot press (for early implementation). It is your internal problem. I hope the central and state governments and other agencies sort it out," he said.

The envoy also cautioned that the Russian scientists working at the site could not "sit idle" for several months in view of the protests by the locals, citing safety concerns.

"They cannot wait indefinitely, cannot sit idle without end because they are doing nothing. And we have so much work going around for nuclear stations (that) one day we can just take them and they are needed," he said.

Vouching for the safety of the plant, he said it is the "safest in the world" and for "all practical purposes, there should be a movement to launch it, not to stop it and kill it."

The Indo-Russian power project in Tamil Nadu's Tirunelveli district has run into rough weather following stiff resistance from locals, who have been protesting since September under the aegis of the People's Movement Against Nuclear Energy, citing safety concerns following the Fukushima disaster last year.

Asked about an outsider hand in the protests that have been dragging for over six months now, the ambassador said it is for "your government to decide."

"There is an investigation (into it and the source of money for the protests). There were suspicions that they get money from somewhere else. To organise such a movement, to put up tents and shamiana, one needs money for such a long time," he said.

The envoy's observations comes close on the heels of Home Minister P Chidambaram's recent remarks at Tirunelveli -- that those acting against the nation's welfare and development with funding of foreign agencies would have to face stern action.

Taking a dig at the protests, Kadakin referred to the Kalpakkam nuclear power station located near Chennai and said, "But they (protestors) are not allowing the safest station in the world to function."

"This is not just, this is not correct," he said.

Acknowledging that people were afraid of calamities, Kadakin said there was a need to clear this 'confusion.'

"We have to of course clear up this confusion because people are confused. Of course, it is natural that people are afraid of calamities; everybody is afraid. But there is also this fact that this is the safest nuclear station in the world and nobody can deny it. So why should people be afraid of this safest station when there are so many functioning in the world," he said.

But he expressed optimism over the future of the project and referred to various initiatives taken by the central and the state governments, including the Jayalalithaa government appointing an expert group to address the locals' fears over the project.

"We are not that pessimistic. We are optimistic," Kadakin added.