Kudankulam:
It's not just work that has been hit at the Kudankulam nuclear power plant in Tamil Nadu due to protests against the upcoming project. The effect is now spilling over to normal life inside the power plant complex which has been completely paralysed as protests entered its third day.
Close to a thousand people including families of engineers and scientists are holed up inside their quarters as anti-power plant protesters have blocked entry points to the Kudankulam complex.
This has resulted in severe shortage of essential commodities as their supply has been hampered by the blockade.
"We are under house arrest, without drinking water and even milk for children. Our stock of provisions is running out and we do not have vegetables," complained a housewife living inside the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project (KNPP).
Meanwhile, hundreds of contract workers, mainly from Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and Bihar, have started quitting the place as there is an unspoken social boycott of them by the locals working at the site.
Hundreds of locals from villages in and around the nuclear power plant are on a hunger strike demanding immediate scrapping of the nuclear power project. Villagers are citing security concerns following the nuclear disaster at the Fukushima power plant in Japan triggered by the devastating earthquake that ravaged the nation early this year.
But the Centre has rejected the request for stoppage of work at the plant. It, instead, has assured that the plant - designed to generate more nuclear power than anywhere else in the country - meets international safety standards.
In fact, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has personally intervened in the matter, assuring locals of allaying all fears about the project. He has also written to Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa twice, asking for her support for the power plant.
(Read: PM's letter to Jayalalithaa on Kudankulam nuclear plant) But it hasn't met with the desired response. Ms Jayalalithaa has asked the Union Government to suspend operations at the nuclear plant till the villagers are convinced they are safe. "We will act respecting concerns of local people in the Kudankulam nuclear plant issue. I will be one among you in this issue", she had said.
The vexed project though has found a voice of support from former President A P J Abdul Kalam. One of the prominent pro-nuclear faces in the country, Mr Kalam batted for the plant saying that nuclear energy is clean energy.
"I will visit all these reactors across coastal belts and personally hold discussions with the scientists about all aspects. It will take at least 10 days to visit and gather all information, after which a report will be made", he told reporters.
The first of the two reactors at the plant was originally scheduled to start functioning alter this month. The nuclear plant is being built for nearly 13,000 crore rupees and is expected to help solve Tamil Nadu's considerable power problems.