CHENNAI: Seeking to allay the fears of the local population, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa today said the Koodankulam Nuclear Power Plant in Tirunelveli district has adequate safety parameters and appealed to agitators to end their indefinite fast against it.Making a "kind appeal" to the more than 100 protestors who are on an indefinite fast since September 10, Jayalalithaa said in a statement that the plant is safeguarded even from a tsunami and was located in a zone not prone to earthquakes.She said following her government's interaction with plant officials and nuclear scientists, it was her "duty" to inform the people about the safety measures put in place there."The power plant is located in the second zone of the seismic level where earthquakes are not possible... there is a very safe reactor cooling system. Though one cooling system is enough, four different systems are in place".Jayalalithaa said the plant was located 7.5 metres above sea level, which means that there will be no damage to it even during a natural disaster like tsunami. The plant suffered no damage during the 2004 tsunami too, she said.Other safety measures were also in place, Jayalalithaa said, adding these were approved by the Indian and Russian scientists, since it is an Indo-Russian joint venture, and relevant government departments.The Tamil Nadu government had yesterday initiated talks with the protestors sending three ministers to persuade them to call off their fast but it had remained inconclusive.The local population and fishermen in the coastal village of Koodankulam has been agitating against the project and intensified the protests in recent weeks after the KNPP officials said the hot run (testing with dummy fuel) of the first reactor, has reached the final stage and commercial power production would begin in December.
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