Appeal

Dear Concerned Citizen,

The Koodankulam situation continues to be grim. After the police repression, thousands of protesters have taken to a jal-satyagraha.

Professor Romila Thapar and I have drafted the attached statement, to be signed by concerned citizens, and to be released to the media and sent to the government.

We would be grateful for your endorsement. Please reply to prafulbidwai@gmail.com as well as to pksundaram@gmail.com.

Best regards,

Praful Bidwai

Citizens Statement Against Rrepression in Koodankulam

We are appalled at the police repression unleashed against people protesting peacefully against the Koodankulam nuclear plant. The repression has forced them to take to a jal-satyagraha.

Their legitimate, and as-yet-unaddressed, concerns about the plant’s safety were heightened by the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board’s recent admission that it has not implemented the recommendations of its own review committee, including revision of safety parameters, and installation of backup freshwater and power sources. No emergency-evacuation drill was conducted as mandated, in a 16-kilometre radius, prior to fuel-loading. 

The government has refused to disclose pertinent information, including the Site Evaluation and Safety Analysis Reports, nuclear-waste management plans, and the agreement indemnifying the Russian supplier against accidents, which mocks the absolute liability principle. These documents need to be discussed publicly and at least with the people affected by the plant.

Instead, the government is accusing the protesters of sedition, and the protest of being “foreign”- inspired, despite an absence of evidence. This is part of a profoundly undemocratic pattern, recently increasing, of demonising dissent, dismissing people’s concerns about hazards, and brutally repressing protests.

We urge the government to suspend work at Koodankulam and engage directly and democratically with the concerns of the people who live in the vicinity, so that if the plant is to proceed it has their acceptance.

Please Endorse at prafulbidwai@gmail.com

Please Endorse also at pksundaram@gmail.com