SL waits for India’s ‘No threat report’

Written by Deepal Warnakulasuriya

Sri Lanka was keen on the proceedings of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant (KKNPP) in Tamil Nadu and has already written to them for a ‘no threat report’, revealed Power and Energy Minister Patali Champika Ranawaka. The minister said that it had already identified the issue and taken measurers with the Indian government as well as the International Atomic Energy Authority (IAEA).

“We have written to the Indian government via the Ministry of External Affairs, and we’ll be working on a mutual understanding over the issue. At the same time, a baseline survey is being carried out on sea by the Atomic Energy Authority (AEA) to find out any threat to Sri Lanka from the KKNPP,” Minister Ranawaka said.

Kudankulam Power Plant has become a major issue in Indian media these days as thousands of villagers, mostly women, continue with an indefinite fast at the site premises demanding the scrapping of the project claiming that the project poses a huge risk, especially in light of Japan’s Fukushima nuclear plant bad experience after the tsunami last year. The agitation is being led by an organization called People’s Movement Against Nuclear Energy (PMANE).

Indian government two weeks ago gave the go-ahead signal for the Indo-Russian joint venture that had hit a nine month roadblock due to protests. Indian media reports that work on the first two units, each capable of producing 1000 MW, is almost complete and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa last Thursday voiced that it was expected to go on stream in another two months time. Meanwhile experts and nuclear analysts in Sri Lanka have pointed out that the project has some threats on Sri Lanka too. A radiation leak due to some unforeseen reason is the main threat as the Kudankulam is just 240kms from the west coast of Sri Lanka, in line with Puttalam area. The second was any anticipated climatic change which could be driven for cyclones, intense rainfall and storms caused by increasing emissions of green houses gases. Thirdly, this is the first time, India goes for a mega level power plant of about 1000MW, and they have experience only on smaller nuclear power plants of about 200MW. Minister Ranawaka further said they have also brought the matter to the International Atomic Energy Authority and expected India to follow its guidelines when they commissioning the project.

Questioned over the issue, a high rank official from the Environment Ministry said they did not know such an issue and would be looking into it.

http://www.nation.lk/edition/todays-news/item/4601-sl-waits-for-india%E2%80%99s-%E2%80%98no-threat-report%E2%80%99.html