tagged w/ Prime Minister Manmohan Singh
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PART ONE...
The New York Times
Photo: India's Konkan coastline, near the site of a proposed nuclear power plant, has been hit by earthquakes in recent years
April 13, 2011
Resistance to Jaitapur Nuclear Plant Grows in India
By VIKAS BAJAJ
MADBAN, India — When a farmer named Praveen Gawankar and two neighbors began a protest four years ago against a proposed nuclear power plant here in this coastal town, they were against it mainly for not-in-my-backyard reasons.
They stood to lose mango orchards, cashew trees and rice fields, as the government forcibly acquired 2,300 acres to build six nuclear reactors — the biggest nuclear power plant ever proposed anywhere.
But now, as a nuclear disaster unfolds in distant Japan, the lonely group of farmers has seen support for their protest swell to include a growing number of Indian scientists, academics and former government officials. “We are getting ready for bigger protests,” Mr. Gawanker said.
While the government vows to push ahead — citing India’s energy needs — Indian newspapers recently reported that the environment minister wrote Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to question the wisdom of large nuclear installations. And a group of 50 Indian scientists, academics and activists has called for a moratorium on new projects. “The Japanese nuclear crisis is a wake-up call for India,” they wrote in an open letter.
Opponents note that the area was hit by 95 earthquakes from 1985 to 2005, although Indian officials counter that most were minor and that the plant’s location on a high cliff would offer protection against tsunamis.
The heated debate shows how the politics of nuclear energy may be changing, not only in the United States and Europe but in developing countries whose economies desperately need cheap power to continue growing rapidly.
For Indian officials intent on promoting nuclear energy, the partial meltdowns and radiation leaks at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant in Japan could not have come at a worse time. Currently, India gets about 3 percent of its electricity from the 20 relatively small nuclear reactors in the country. But it is building five new reactors and has proposed 39 more, including the ones here in Madban, to help meet the voracious energy needs of India’s fast-growing economy.
Only China, the other emerging-economy giant with a ravenous energy appetite, is planning a more rapid expansion of nuclear power. Beijing has indicated that it, too, plans to proceed cautiously with its nuclear rollout.
CONTINUED...PART ONE...
The New York Times
Photo: India's Konkan coastline, near the... more
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Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is expected to undertake a long-overdue visit to Saudi Arabia next month or early March during which the two countries will sign nine pacts, including an Extradition Treaty and an Agreement on Transfer of Sentenced Prisoners.Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is expected to undertake a long-overdue visit to Saudi... more
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