By IANS,
Chennai : More than 100 anti-nuclear energy activists will Thursday embark on a yatra from Madurai to Kudankulam in Tirunelveli district of Tamil Nadu to create awareness about the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project (KNPP).
According to a statement issued here by the Chennai Solidarity Group for Kudankulam Struggle Wednesday, before leaving, the activists would attend a seminar on nuclear energy and India’s energy crisis, organised by Tamil Nadu Gandhi Smarak Nidhi.
The activists will meet villagers protesting against the project in Kudankulam.
A 10-member youth delegation from the Chennai Solidarity Group for Kudankulam Struggle, including members of Campaign for Justice and Peace-TN and Reclaim Our Beaches, will join the yatra in Idinthakarai near Kudankulam Friday.
The yatra, organised by the National Alliance of Anti-Nuclear Movements, will stop at various towns and villages enroute to Kudankulam to warn the people about the environmental and health effects of nuclear energy, the statement said.
The yatra will culminate in Chennai Sunday.
India’s nuclear power plant operator Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) is building two 1,000 MW nuclear power reactors with Russian technology and equipment in Kudankulam, around 650 km from here. The first unit is expected to go on stream in December. The project is estimated to cost around Rs.13,160 crore.
However, locals are opposed to the project, saying it will harm their health and the environment.