Kudankulam:
Despite Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's assurance to look into their concerns, villagers in and around the controversial Kudankulam nuclear power plant in Tamil Nadu have resumed their indefinite fast in protest against the project.
The locals have been demanding for immediate suspension of work at the plant due to safety concerns following the nuclear disaster at the Fukushima power plant in Japan early this year triggered by the devastating earthquake in the country.
The Tamil Nadu cabinet last month passed a resolution asking the Prime Minister to intervene; Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa had said that till the villagers were convinced that they were safe, no further activity should take place at the Kudankulam plant.
As more than 5000 people today joined the ongoing relay fast, protesting villagers expressed doubts over whether the state cabinet passed the resolution with "genuine concern".
Various expert agencies and the Union government have guaranteed that the plant -which is designed to generate more nuclear power than anywhere else in India - meets international safety standards. The Prime Minister had also ensured a delegation of different political parties and activists opposed to the plant that all nuclear safety concerns would be attended to.
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.