Power is the victim

"With greater power comes greater responsibility"

Now, don't ask me where I heard or saw that, I don't remember. Nonetheless, that, I Imagine, could be one of the reasons behind continuing sit-in protests at Idinthakarai (henceforth referred to as IK) near Nagercoil against the commissioning of the Koodankulam Nuclear Power Plant (KNPP). People from all walks of society (or so says the nitwit M P Jesuraj who proclaims leadership of the protests) have left their livelihoods to tend to itself, for something like 2 months now, to sit and demonstrate against commissioning KNPP. For Jesuraj it's something to rake up and attract prospective followers, to push himself to the hilt of the state as someone to deal with. For the protesters (a majority misguided and misinformed I'm certain), it's the feeling of their voice being heard by the higher ups in the state, unmindful that their voice isn't something their mind thought of on its own. Power, in this power starved state, is thus the victim of the abrasive self serving ideals of a few.

That it has come to this pass is a shame. As much as 1000 Megawatts is locked up due to sheer callousness of all concerned. In a state where many districts face around 4-5hrs of shutdown daily due to power shortage, even allowing space for these protests to go on unabated is nothing but irresponsible handling of the situation by the state government. And let us remember that CM Jayalalithaa rode to 'power' on promises, one of which is rectifying the power situation in the state. She is going nowhere on that promise by requesting a stay on commissioning the plant till the fears of the people are allayed. You could put down her decision as something she doesn't want to force on her own people until they are convinced, to allude to pure democracy. But while at that, she seems to have forgotten there are much more people, people employed in textile mills (and that is a BIG employing industry in TN), farmers using electric pumpsets, workshops etc., who are crying out loud for uninterrupted power and they are really in favor of KNPP starting as soon as possible. For some reason their concerns have been ignored, most of us not even aware that some small groups held a couple of protests favoring KNPP. Even newspapers carry pages of only the protesters, pregnant mothers and school-going (rather school-skipping) children wilting under pandals at IK. Newsbits of people protesting in favor of KNPP are allotted spaces smaller than the request for a bridegroom in the classifieds. It seems to have become a larger understanding that larger/more violent/vociferous the gathering, the nobler the ideal. While infact the protesters in favor of KNPP cannot push the protest too long or take it too big, what when they have to run their mills to the maximum capacity with the 6-7 hrs of power they get, to save on diesel or other fuel costs by running the mill on direct power as much as they can. Surely they can't afford to spend time on the streets, can they??

So could have our CM done more to convince the gathering at IK? Hardly. I don't believe that the gathering is in any mood to listen to any reasoning. Jesuraj and co seem to have an acute case of vocal diarrheoa, in which nothing enters the ear, and the same old rhetoric comes out in multiples time and again. Jayalalithaa fell to their sucker punch when she sought the help of a member of the PM's office to come over and dispel fears. And it was just a case of wasted aviation fuel as Jesuraj refused to talk to the official. Forget that. Even the views of India's most respected former president, the architect of India's missile program, A P J Abdul Kalam's views were dismissed by Jesuraj as lacking understanding of the situation in IK. Lacking understanding?? REALLY?? Are we to believe that Jesuraj and his cronies know more about nuclear power, it's safety issues and hazards that Dr APJ?? Now I've heard everything!!

This all amounts deliberate obstruction of a really vital development activity. And this isn't the usual acquiring land for some IT park, or manufacturing hub that triggers protest every now and then. This is about ensuring availability for the ever growing needs of a basic necessity that is now in severe shortfall- Electricity. Such unreasonable activism should have been dealt with firmly. This is an issue whose influence is not limited to IK, but the whole of TN. If it were a project meant to benefit only IK and the residents object, it can be done away with. Not when the rest of the state is craving for power output from the plant. And those craving are from all professions and economic strata. It is sad that even after trying to reason and finding that the protesters are being unreasonable and obstructive, the state govt hasn't been more resolute in taking matters into its own hands, even if it meant dispersing the gathering and taking Jesuraj and co into custody (when Ramdev, who was just wasting television airspace and few other people's time with his gimmicks, while not blocking any development can be arrested clandestinely, certainly Jesuraj and Co should be counting bars now) .

Everyone has their stock of reasons opposing it: the foremost a breakdown resulting in harmful radiation; diseases; earthquake causing reason 1. There is ZERO history of an industrial disaster in India involving setups that are under the watchful eye of government bodies, thus Union carbide cannot be cited as an example for the reason. No government would go ahead with such a massive project until it is sure that there are no problematic areas or doubts. Atleast as far nuclear power, or power itself, in the country is concerned, it's record speaks for itself as far as safety. And there are people who live in and around Kalpakkam, carrying on with normal life with no mutations or anything from any suspected radiations, people still fish some 50 kms on either side of Kalpakkam, nothing is fishy in Kalpakkam. And Kalpakkam is the example to dispel fears of the effects of a tsunami. Kalpakkam carried out some repairs and reconstruction but no major incident occurred. There is the good and evil in everything and nuclear energy is one of them. For the better, people have to make arrangements to accommodate those, and in this case that would mean having to relocate to a distance away from the plant. By doing that, it is the same people who are now protesting who would be big beneficiaries and they will all taste the good of it. While trustworthy people inside the plant are there to provide the good of it while making sure the evil doesn't have a chance to take a peek. And in all the nuclear plants in the country their record is so far blemishless. Isn't it worth to give them trust??

Arguments that other countries are shunning away from nuclear power is completely merit-less. Those are countries that have sufficient power production for many years to come and can take their time to research on developing renewable sources, which by the way, could be costlier (solar power IS MUCH costlier) and you can guess what the reaction of this same bunch will be if a renewable power source is established and power tariffs are announced. Those countries, with a higher standard of living, will object lesser to higher power tariffs. And I don't even have to talk of this now. Because no country has yet announced they are stopping nuclear power. Most of them are just phasing out reactors that have become too old i.e completed 40 or more years in service. Others have just made a wishlist of reducing dependence on nuclear power, but will certainly start moving away only when they have enough alternatives at hand ready to produce the same quantum of power being produced at date. Now, take a look here. Demanding closure of all nuclear power plants (shudder!!) immediately. And what are we going to turn to?? Cow-dung?? Harness open defecation?? Coal is at a premium now and many thermal plants receive delayed supplies already, so coal is not the answer. Which brings me to a ridiculous suggestion by an IAS guy I read a month ago or so: to use the built plant at Koodankulam as a thermal plant by burning coal/lignite/natural gas at the reactor core. I guess he runs his petrol engine car on coconut oil.

I've written, rather ranted, too much. Well I would think this essay of sorts reflects the irritation this whole anti-Koodankulam business causes me. Or you one too??