PMs stand could lead to a flashpoint

CHENNAI: The seemingly tough stand taken by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, urging Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa to take steps to implement the Koodankulam Nuclear Power Project (KNPP) without bothering to expedite measures to convince those protesting against the project on the safety of the plant, could only lead to a needless flashpoint in Idinthakarai.Though the Tamil Nadu government has already made it clear that it was for the Centre to gain the confidence of the locals, who are vehemently opposing a nuclear facility in their midst, nothing substantial has been done by the Department of Atomic Energy so far to ally their fears, which is evident from the crowds at the fast site in Idinthakarai swelling with each passing day.Apart from 106 people sitting on an indefinite fast, villagers from around the area are trooping to the venue daily to express solidarity, which is a sign of the protest having turned into a popular movement, particularly after the prime minister met the activists.Going by the version of some activists involved in the protest, the people no longer trust the prime minister or the Central government or for the matter the nuclear scientists, who are trying to say that everything is honky dory. The local people see no use for the plant other than it being a constant threat to their lives and livelihood.All arguments put forth by the government that the plant would contribute close to 1,000 MW electricity to Tamil Nadu or that Rs 13,000 crore has already been spend on it have failed to cut ice with the people, who genuinely dread a Fukushima type of disaster happening one day and do not expect more electricity coming their way.It will indeed be a Herculean task for the Centre or the nuclear scientists to change the collective opinion of the people, who are also apprehensive of the fishermen losing their catch in the sea off the coast. Besides, the local community leaders, who had earlier given the nod for the project one-and-a-half decades ago, are not envisaging their brethren deriving any benefit in whatsoever form from the plant now.To put it otherwise, the movement has come a long way. From being a ragtag group, influenced by professional activists, it has consolidated into a people’s movement.So when the prime minister tells the State government that he wants the project to kickstart, it only smacks of his insensitivity to popular sentiments and people’s aspirations.Unless the people are made to believe that they would have something to gain from the plant going operational, it will be very difficult to make the protestors call off the agitation. The only way out is to make the local people stakeholders in the project after figuring out why they do not trust the Centre anymore.