I read interview of Udhdhhav Thakare and Dr. Anil Kakodkar about Jaitapur plant. I think that Dr. Anil Kakodkar has fair pont and may be Mr. Thakare is also right at his position. According to Thakare there are not many villagers who are being displaced by that plant but he says if it is going to affect environment and cause problem to sea life then why go ahead with it. So his movement has no politics behind it but he cares for people. It is hard to believe that Udhdhhav is not playing politics, he is no social worker but he may have point when he asks government to open some facts and not to lathicharge people who are demonstrating against the nuclear plant.
Dr. Kakodkar says more about technicalities but assures that it will not do as much as harm hyped by media and some environmentalists. I think I will go with the Dr. Kakodkar and will support to the plant. If France is able to satisfy it 85% of its energy needs using nuclear power then India should also try to get more non conventional energy plants which will not only help environment more as it does not create carbon monoxide but will also save lot of foreign exchange as our dependence on natural gas oil will decrease. Its really hard to tell people that nuclear plants are source of clean energy. They just laugh at it. No one has forgotten Chernobyl accident and no one seems to forget how callously our own government treated our people in Bhopal tragedy. These facts are hampering governments claim that they will do everything for people. Dr. Kakodkar says we will need at least 10 times more energy than now we need today in next 30 or 40 years and coal and hydro energy are not options. Hydro power stations need lot of fertile land and more displaced people will be involved while coal plants produce too much CO and need lot coal to be imported which results in loss of foreign exchange. Yes we will need to import Uranium but we have lot of Thorium and we should concentrate on research on thorium nuclear power plant. But as of now there is no technology in the world which can make it possible. So even though India has large sources of Thorium, thorium power plants can be good future option and can not satisfy current needs.
Also most of our civilian nuclear plants will be under watch of IAEA which will ensure that no accident happens in those plants and high standards of safety are in place. Also Dr. Kakodkar already ensured about safety of the plants. Some scientists are pointing out that EPR nuclear reactors which will be installed at the jaitapur are not safe and its construction work has been stalled in Finland also two rivers in France have been polluted due to errors of Areva, a French Government company which manufactures nuclear reactors. But if safety has caused problems in Finland then its good news for us as some issues with EPR are already been sorted out and Areva has replied to allegations about polluted rivers. Also two EPR reactors are under construction in China so we can always keep an eye on what happens there. Udhdhhav Thakare says please do not make Konkan Guinea pig. But this is no experiment, it is damn business. Also rates of power generated at Jaitapur plant have not been decided. According Dr. Kakodkar that will be done in coming time and assures that it will not be very costly. Also poeple who are opposing the plant have not come up with the alternative to other energy resource. Solar and wind are not alternative. They too expensive and can not produce power on large scale as possible by nuclear power.
I will feel disheartened if this project does not go through but if i see attitude of both state and Central government then I think this project will go on. Even our paranoid environmental minister has given this project go ahead.
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In fact Anil Kakodkar himself has talked about the dangers, and the situation in which the plant was sanctioned. Kakodkar says that "we have to consider the business interests of foreign companies", He does not at all talk about safe disposal of waste for lakhs of years, which Jairam ramesh has acknowledged that will become a problem after 2020 (not too far, huh?). Kakodkar has also avoided talking on the cost, which is sure to be much much higher than any other energy source. Kakodkar also tells us clearly that the locals are unlikely to get a job in the plant! The other jobs which get created normally go to ministers and their kith and kin and not to people as the experience says. The very fact that "Rajanaitik apariharyata" is a topic in Kakodkar's writeup tells us why the plant is coming and why environment does not matter. NOthing to talk about Shivasena, as we all know what happened with Enron, who is the major culrprit for today's energy problem !
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