TIRUNELVELI: The administration of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project (KKNPP) has postponed the examination for 62 Group-B scientific assistant posts, which was scheduled to be conducted on Sunday. In a statement, RS Sawant, site director of KKNPP, said that due to certain unavoidable circumstances, the written examination for 62 Group-B Scientific Assistant posts, scheduled on March 3, stands postponed. “The fresh date will be intimated and the inconvenience caused is deeply regretted,” he added.
On Friday, Assembly Speaker M Appavu had written to the secretary of Department of Atomic Energy demanding the cancellation of the said examination in a bid to ensure that the people, who handed over their land for the project, received jobs. In his letter to Ajit Kumar Mohanty, secretary of the Department of Atomic Energy and Chairman of Atomic Energy Commission, Appavu alleged that by organising an examination to fill the vacant posts, the KKNPP administration violated the agreement signed in 1999 to offer employment to project affected persons (PAPs), who gave their land for the project, and local youngsters.
Meanwhile, district panchayat president VSR Jagathish and a few DMK functionaries had earlier announced that they would stage a protest in front the KKNPP site on Sunday in this regard.
To pacify them, revenue officials led by Cheranmahadevi sub-collector Arpit Jain conducted peace talks on Saturday, with the participation of Sawant and KKNPP officials. Following this, a decision was taken to postpone the examination. “It was also decided to offer ‘C’ category jobs to PAPs and local youth before filling Group-B posts. Hence, the protest plan was cancelled,” said sources.