Friends of the Earth wants nuclear power station cancelled

: The southernmost tip of India is considered by Hindus to be one of the major holy places. The very southernmost tip of the subcontinent is known as Kanyakumari, and it is the only place in India from which the sun can be seen to rise in one ocean and set in the other ocean. Sometime last century, Swami Vivekananda went out to a large rock situated just off the southernmost extremity and meditated there for a number of years. It’s a popular pligramage spot and an exceedingly pleasant place to contemplate life the universe and everything. Sunrise and sunset are magical.

The Indian government has sought to site not one but two monster Russian nuclear reactors of the VVER1000/392 type, a very short distance away in the village of Koodankulam. The villagers in Koodankulam are poor fishermen; many of them have either been convinced that they may obtain jobs in the new reactor project, or have been intimidated into silence. However, opposition to the project is now growing. The Indian National Social Action Forum, (INSAF) the National Association of Peoples Movements, (NAPM) and Peace Trust have all sent letters protesting the project and pointing to safety problems with the VVER1000/392 reactor design, to the Prime Minister (whose portfolio includes the Department of Atomic Energy), to the Department of Atomic Energy, and to the Nuclear Power Corporation.

I have agreed to help coordinate an international sign on letter to the PM. Non-governmental Organizations (NGOs) and others are invited/urged to sign on to this letter addressed to the Prime Minister of India, Mr.A.B.Vajpayee, drawing his attention to concerns over the safety of the VVEER1000 design, and asking that the project to be abandoned.

Note: The letter has been painstakingly agreed between Indian activists. It may not be absolutely perfect, but at this stage it isn’t possible, in the interests of being fair to everyone, to alter it. I urge you and/or your organization to sign it. You may sign on to this campaign by sending me email expressing your support. Please be sure to include your full name, and the city where you reside.

John Hallam

April 1999

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