The Human Rights Forum (HRF) is organising a two-day anti-nuclear power ‘prachara yatra’ in Srikakulam district on April 9 and 10.
The ‘No to nuclear power’ campaign will focus upon the demand for India to drop ongoing plans to construct 6 nuclear power plants in the country including one at Kovvada in Ranasthalam mandal of Srikakulam district. The campaign will begin at Ranasthalam at 9 am on April 9, 2011 and will cover 15 villages in the area including Kovvada. On April 10, the campaign will take place in Srikakulam town.
The Indian government has not learnt the right lessons from the recent disaster in Fukushima. Rather, it is pushing a highly irrational nuclear power generating programme that is a recipe for disaster. According to present government plans, by the year 2050 there will be one 6000 MW nuclear power plant every 55 km all along India’s roughly 6,000 km coastline!
HRF is of the opinion that nuclear power has to be rejected because it is intrinsically hazardous, extremely dangerous and is a deadly legacy for future generations. Contrary to popular perception, nuclear power is actually more expensive than power from conventional sources like coal, gas and hydro. Furthermore, nuclear power is not a solution to the climate crisis.
Fukushima has shown us that despite the best safeguards, all nuclear facilities are vulnerable to the risk of a catastrophic accident. What Indian needs is an energy system that can fight climate change based on renewable energy and energy efficiency, not on fossil fuels, much less on nuclear fuel.
Nuclear power is an unacceptable risk to us and future generations. HRF demands that the government immediately drop plans to construct new nuclear power plants and to initiate a process to decommission existing nuclear plants within a stipulated timeframe.
VS Krishna
HRF State general secretary
KV Jagannadha Rao
HRF State secretary
07.04.2011
Srikakulam