An anti-nuclear movementopposing Koodankulam Nuclear power plant today described as an'absurd drama', the Offsite Emergency exercise conducted bysenior officials and scientists of KNPP at Nakkanery village,about seven km from the plant site.
People's Movement Against Nuclear Energy wondered why theexercise was held in a village of just 300 people and not inmore populated hamlets closer to KNPP and suspected it mighthave been done so that the 100 illiterate women left behindafter the men went for work could be 'manipulated.'
"If 100 villagers in Nakkanery are trained, how do othersin the 16 km or 30 km radius and beyond get information andexperience to face a nuclear disaster?" PMANE convenorPushparayan asked in a press release.
He said Collector R Selvaraj had claimed in a release theexercise was carried out in three stages as prescribed in theEmergency Plan. But the release had no mention of it, he said.
He demanded to know why local public representatives suchas MP, MLA, civil society members, prominent citizens andlocal media not invited for the exercise.
"Do nuclear disasters affect a large area around the plantor just one or two specific villages? How come the exercise iscarried out in an isolated village and not throughout theproject affected area?" he asked.
The 'Off Site Emergency Exercise' conducted yesterday is abiannual programme and one of the mandatory steps prescribedby the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board before commissioning ofthe first unit at the plant.