THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Social activist and lawyer Prashant Bhushan on Sunday demanded that work on the Koodankulam Nuclear Power Project (KKNPP) be suspended immediately and an independent panel set up to examine safety issues.
The government should respect the sentiments and fears expressed by the agitating local people, he told a press conference here. Bhushan, who had visited Koodankulam on Saturday, demanded the government to release all arrested agitators and withdraw cases charged against them.
An independent committee of experts had pointed out that the there was evidence of volcanic activity at the plant site and the area was also earthquake-prone, he said.
“It is imperative that a comprehensive EIA is done by an independent team of scientists.
Instead, the government has unleashed a wave of repression against local people,” he said, describing the agitation as ‘peaceful, disciplined’.
Every scientific committee set up by the Centre on the KKNPP comprised of people who once served with the Atomic Energy Commission.
“How do people trust a committee consisting of people who were in charge of taking the decisions?” he said.
He termed Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa’s demand that KKNPP should supply power exclusively for Tamil Nadu as a let-down.
“They should have ensured that a safety audit is held,” he said.