TIRUNELVELI: R S Sundar, a son-of-the-soil, would soon be taking charge as the Project Director of the Koodankulam Nuclear Power Plant Project (KKNPP).
Till recently, 54-year-old Sundar, who has a BE Mechanical degree from the Coimbatore Institute of Technology, was the Station Director of Unit 1 and 2 at the KKNPP. A native of Vellahal village near Tenkasi in Tirunelveli district, Sundar is the son of V P Ramaiah and R Senbagavalli. An employee of the Department of Atomic Energy since 1980, Sundar has also undergone a one-year training programme at the Bhabha Atomic Research Center (BARC) Training School, Mumbai.
Stating that it was a “special honour” for him to lead a peaceful nuclear power programme in his native, Sundar said nuclear power was “always safe, clean, environmentally benign, and economically viable for the electrical energy. We request all our neighbours to support this energy programme. Now my duty is to take Unit 1 to attain criticality and subsequent power production.” Meanwhile, M Kasinath Balaji was promoted as executive director operations, light water reactor.