Chennai:
The first nuclear reactor of the Rs 17,000 crore Kudankulam nuclear power plant, which attained criticality on Saturday night, is functioning smoothly and all the parametres are normal, officials said.
The historic moment, when the reactor became functional, came after nearly a decade of protests and legal hurdles and prompted the nuclear establishment to rejoice the "red letter day".
"We were very joyous when the reactor became critical at 23:05 hours last night. Everything was absolutely safe. It behaved perfectly well," M K Balaji, chief of new reactors, Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL), told NDTV.
Mr Balaji said it was almost a "copybook" type of criticality and the reactor "behaved perfectly well". "It's like a baby born, and the baby is going to grow into an adult and will be the best citizen serving the country," he added.
The Boron Dilution process was witnessed by the top guns of Indian and Russian nuclear establishments. The NPCIL said that the next step will be to increase the reactor power in stages to generate 1000 MW electricity as per the laid down procedures and regulatory clearances.
Initially, the plant will be synchronised to the southern grid with about 400 MW power. Subsequently, power will be increased in a step-wise manner to 50 per cent, 75 per cent, 90 per cent and full power after obtaining necessary regulatory clearances.
Union Minister V Narayanasamy said that the reactor will start its initial production within 20 days.
Tamil Nadu is likely to get the lion's share, around 463 MW, out of the 1000 MW the first unit will produce, but Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa has pitched for the entire share citing the acute power crisis.
Meanwhile, the locals, who are opposing the plant calling it unsafe, especially after the Fukushima disaster, have vowed to continue with their agitation.
The Peoples Movement Against Nuclear Energy (PMANE), which spearheads the movement, has announced a black flag demonstration in Kudankulam on Monday.