The Australian
April 21 2011
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ANTI-NUCLEAR protesters in India have vowed to continue their campaign against the construction of one of the world's largest nuclear power complexes.
The protests continued after two days of violent rallies in which a local man was killed and dozens were injured.
Environmentalists, local farmers and fishermen have been protesting for months over the planned six-reactor nuclear power complex on the mango and cashew nut-rich coastal plains of Jaitapur, 420km south of Mumbai.
But anger, which has escalated in the wake of Japan's Fukushima nuclear disaster, boiled over this week as Hindu nationalist elements joined the protests in the nearby town of Ratnagiri.
On Monday, a local fisherman was shot dead as protesters attacked the local police station, prompting an angry mob to set alight buses and stone the hospital on Tuesday to prevent what they believed would be a partial government autopsy on the dead activist.
Police then baton-charged the protesters in a series of violent clashes replayed repeatedly on Indian television.
The Maharashtra government has promised an inquiry into the death but also suggested the protests were politically motivated by the right-wing Shiv Sena Party and not based on genuine local concerns.
Opponents of the plant -- a joint project between French nuclear company Areva and the Nuclear Power Corporation of India -- have put up posters across Jaitapur depicting scenes of last month's devastation at Fukushima as a warning of the possible consequences for their own region. They say the area has had close to 100 earthquakes since 1985, the most powerful in 1993 measuring 6.2 on the Richter scale.
Hundreds of farmers have also objected to the compulsory acquisition of fertile land for the project and fishermen fear the plant will raise water temperatures and disrupt access to fishing grounds.
Protesters will tomorrow begin a march from a nuclear power plant near Mumbai to Jaitapur as part of their campaign.
Construction of the $US10 billion ($9.3bn) 9900-megawatt complex is mooted to begin later this year.
Environmentalists had hoped for a review of the project after Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh raised the possibility after the Fukushima disaster. But he said last week India could not afford to rule out nuclear power if it were to continue to grow its economy. About 40 per cent of the population has no access to electricity.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/fisherman-shot-dead-in-indian-nuke-protest/story-e6frg6so-1226042424159
April 21 2011
---
ANTI-NUCLEAR protesters in India have vowed to continue their campaign against the construction of one of the world's largest nuclear power complexes.
The protests continued after two days of violent rallies in which a local man was killed and dozens were injured.
Environmentalists, local farmers and fishermen have been protesting for months over the planned six-reactor nuclear power complex on the mango and cashew nut-rich coastal plains of Jaitapur, 420km south of Mumbai.
But anger, which has escalated in the wake of Japan's Fukushima nuclear disaster, boiled over this week as Hindu nationalist elements joined the protests in the nearby town of Ratnagiri.
On Monday, a local fisherman was shot dead as protesters attacked the local police station, prompting an angry mob to set alight buses and stone the hospital on Tuesday to prevent what they believed would be a partial government autopsy on the dead activist.
Police then baton-charged the protesters in a series of violent clashes replayed repeatedly on Indian television.
The Maharashtra government has promised an inquiry into the death but also suggested the protests were politically motivated by the right-wing Shiv Sena Party and not based on genuine local concerns.
Opponents of the plant -- a joint project between French nuclear company Areva and the Nuclear Power Corporation of India -- have put up posters across Jaitapur depicting scenes of last month's devastation at Fukushima as a warning of the possible consequences for their own region. They say the area has had close to 100 earthquakes since 1985, the most powerful in 1993 measuring 6.2 on the Richter scale.
Hundreds of farmers have also objected to the compulsory acquisition of fertile land for the project and fishermen fear the plant will raise water temperatures and disrupt access to fishing grounds.
Protesters will tomorrow begin a march from a nuclear power plant near Mumbai to Jaitapur as part of their campaign.
Construction of the $US10 billion ($9.3bn) 9900-megawatt complex is mooted to begin later this year.
Environmentalists had hoped for a review of the project after Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh raised the possibility after the Fukushima disaster. But he said last week India could not afford to rule out nuclear power if it were to continue to grow its economy. About 40 per cent of the population has no access to electricity.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/fisherman-shot-dead-in-indian-nuke-protest/story-e6frg6so-1226042424159
