Kudankulam: Protestors to stand in sea from Sept 13

Taking a cue from 'Jal Satyagraha' activists in Madhya Pradesh, opponents of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant today threatened to stand in the sea off Idianthakarai coast from Thursday as a stepped-up form of agitation.

Sources in People's Movement of Nuclear Energy (PMANE), which is spearheading the stir, said the agitators have put forward four demands - stoppage of the process of fuel-loading in KNPP, giving up of the plan to arrest anti-nuclear movement leaders, adequate compensation for those who suffered losses and release of those already taken into custody.

The agitators today ended their 48-hour relay fast at Idinthakarai to protest the police action which saw them resorting to lathicharge and bursting of teargas shells, besides conducting house-to-house searches.

Security forces today sealed almost the entire town housing the nuclear plant even as PMANE covenor S P Udayakumar remained elusive after a volte face on his surrender offer.

The forces allowed transportation of only essential commodities while clamping down on strangers.

The stepped-up security came as KNPP officials continued to make preparations for loading enriched uranium into the first reactor, expected to start in the next few days.

The current bout of intensified protests, including the failed bid to lay a siege to the plant, was launched by People's Movement Against Nuclear Energy to prevent loading of fuel for which regulatory authorities gave the approval recently.

On Sept 10, Madhya Pradesh government had agreed to the main demands of protesters who undertook a 'Jal Satyagraha' in Khandwa district, saying they would be given land as compensation and the height of Omkareshwar Dam would be reduced.

Both were key demands of the protesters who stood in neck-deep water since August 25 to agitate for proper rehabilitation and compensation.