By IANS,
Ratnagiri (Maharashtra): Toughening its stance against those opposing the 9,900 MW Jaitapur nuclear power plant in this Maharashtra district, the area’s collector Sunday banned two former judges and others from entering the district.
According to activist Vaishali Patil, former Supreme Court judge P.B. Sawant and former Bombay High Court judge B.G. Kolse-Patil were served the ban orders by the district administration.
Patil said she was also served a similar order.
While Sawant’s entry into the district has been banned for the first time, Patil and Kolse-Patil have been prevented from entering the district for the third time in recent weeks.
The trio were scheduled to attend a meeting here to chalk out a strategy to counter the government’s stance on the plant.
Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan visited Jaitapur last week and announced the government’s intention to go ahead with the project.
Patil said that she, Sawant and Kolse-Patil would submit a memorandum to Governor K. Sankaranarayanan protesting the ban slapped on them.
Shiv Sena executive president Uddhav Thackeray earlier this week indicated his plans to visit Jaitapur and meet the farmers and fishermen opposing the nuclear power plant.
The anti-nuclear power plant agitation assumes significance with the budget session of the state legislature due to start here next week (March 14) and the issue expected to be raised by opposition parties.
While the Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party support the project, Shiv Sena is strongly opposed to it.
Raj Thackeray’s Maharashtra Navnirman Sena and the Samajwadi Party are yet to clarify their stand on the project while the Janata Dal is against it.
The Bharatiya Janata Party may ultimately support it since the ground work for the project done while the party was in power in the central government.