The question of nuclear power in India should not be around whether we should ‘have’ it or ‘not have’. The question is how we deal with our people’s questions and how we implement nuclear power plants, keeping the safety of the environment and our people as priority.

Livelihood and safety of millions of people and the fragile ecology in large parts of our country are being threatened today by the ruling elite’s nuclear power expansion.

The nuclear industry in India has been known for their gross negligence of safety in the past. Nuclear power is inherently unsafe. While nuclear accidents have very large-scale and long-term consequences unlike other industrial accidents, even in the normal operation of reactors, workers and the local population are exposed to radiation which causes such as cancer, thyroid and leukemia in the long-term. Investigations in Tarapur and Kalpakkam have already established these facts.

As long as the people’s genuine concerns are not addressed, the government has no right to go ahead with the construction of nuclear plants. The government should ensure that people are not being blindly evicted from their homes and that safety standards in implementation of nuclear plants are met with. The Government is meant to protect its people and the environment.