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Mainstream, Vol 63 No 4, January 25, 2025
Open Letter to Com. Prakash Karat to dissuade the government led by his party from proceeding with the nuclear power plants in Kerala | K. Sahadevan
Sunday 26 January 2025, by
#socialtagsCom. Prakash Karat, where are you? The people of Cheemeni (Kerala) are waiting for you.
Dear Com. Prakash Karat,
I trust you are aware that the government, led by your party, is in talks to construct two nuclear power plants in the Cheemeni area of Kerala’s Kasaragod district, each with a 220 MW generating capacity.
As an anti-nuclear activist who supported you and Com. Sitaram Yechury, the backers of the movement against the Jaitapur nuclear power plant project in the Ratnagiri district of Maharashtra, approximately ten and a half years ago, I am asking you to step in and influence a government’s administrative decision.
As an anti-nuclear activist who supported you and Com. Sitaram Yechury, the backers of the movement against the Jaitapur nuclear power plant project in the Ratnagiri district of Maharashtra, I am asking you to step in and influence a government’s administrative decision.
I’m not sure whether you recall the news conference that took place in Mumbai on July 13, 2011. Whether you look through the national media at the time, you will see your remark published with significant prominence. “Suspend all nuclear reactor purchases. After Fukushima, we cannot take risks. We have been told that the government is still in negotiations to fix prices of reactors. This should be stopped” this was your statement. And of course, you also added this too, “The cost of power is also high. We have always opposed the nuke deal. We will oppose Jaitapur plant at the national level”.
Remember that in the same press conference, you also questioned the move to set up nuclear complexes in Meethi Virdi in Gujarat, Haripur in Bengal, Kovvada in Andhra Pradesh, Patisonapur in Orissa, Chutka in Madhya Pradesh and Fatehabad in Haryana.
Com. Sitaram Yechury, CPI leader Com. D. Raja, A. Gopalakrishnan (former Chairman of the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board) S.P. Shukla (former Union Finance Secretary) and you were the patrons of the protest committee against the nuclear power plant in Jaitapur in Maharashtra. You may also be aware that the Konkan Bachao Samiti, which was working against the nuclear power plant, was mainly formed by CPM activists. You were the one who invited Praveen Gaonkar, a prominent anti-nuclear activist from Jaitappur, who passed away untimely, to Delhi and held a press conference.
Later, once again, you stated that “nuclear energy is extremely expensive and dangerous” while expressing your solidarity for the anti-nuclear movement in Kovada, Andhra Pradesh. It was at a seminar titled ‘No Nuclear Power Plant in Kovada’ organized by the CPI(M) at Andhra University on July 16, 2016.
You would not think there has been any leap in India’s nuclear energy sector in the last decade. The fact is that even after six and a half decades, the contribution of atomic energy to India’s energy mix is only 3 to 4%. India’s Fast Breeder Experimental Plant started in 2004, remains unfinished even after two decades. You are aware that this is not due to the incompetence or mismanagement of Indian nuclear scientists. It is because breeder reactor technology has failed all over the world. You are aware that our country is not self-sufficient in uranium, the nuclear fuel, and that India’s Phase III nuclear project based on thorium remains a dream project.
Who doubts that nuclear power technology is a white elephant? It can only move forward with massive subsidies and government support. There are about 135 safety issues related to India’s nuclear power plants, 95 of which are very serious, according to a report published by the Atomic Energy Regulatory Commission titled ’Safety Issues in DAE Installations’. It is still unclear what action has been taken on this report. Needless to say, the Indian nuclear power program, which operates in great secrecy, is hiding all such information from the public.
Dear Comrade,
At the time of writing this letter, I am remembering two more comrades who have been a pillar of support for the anti-nuclear movements in India (except in Kerala). Comrade Sithara Yechury and Comrade G. Sudhakar Reddy. Their presence in Kovvada (Andhra Pradesh), Jaitapur (Maharashtra), and Haripur (West Bengal) was extremely energizing.
We are waiting for the patrons of Jaitapur and Kovvada as the Central and State governments come forward with the nuclear power project at Cheemeni in Kasaragod district. To dissuade the government led by your party from the nuclear power project which you have described as "dangerous and expensive".
With comradeship
K. Sahadevan
(Author: K Sahadevan, has written many books, and articles on nuclear energy and environmental economics. He was part of the early 1990s people’s resistance against the government’s decision to set up a nuclear power plant in Kannur district of Kerala)