THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The solidarity committee in support of the Anti-Koodankulam Nuclear Power Plant Movement has urged the Kerala Government to support its agitation against the power plant, which would be a threat to the people of Kerala and Tamil Nadu.Addressing mediapersons here on Thursday, the committee leaders said that they would submit a memorandum to Chief Minister Oommen Chandy demanding that the Kerala Assembly should pass a resolution against the plant. The leaders will also meet Opposition Leader V S Achuthanandan and various party leaders to press their demand.The Tamil Nadu Government has taken a favourable stand towards the agitation with Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa demanding the Centre and the Department of Atomic Energy to stop the work of the plant till the fears of the people are allayed.The committee, in its convention held in Kochi last month, had decided to organise agitation programmes in Kerala. The committee will stage a one-day fast in front of the Secretariat on October 25. The 22-year-long agitation against the Koodankulam power plant in Idinthakarai village in Tirunelveli district of Tamil Nadu has reached a momentous stage, they said. Hundreds of villagers are on an indefinite relay fast in front of the power plant. The power plant is a big threat to the people of Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Pathanamthitta, Kottayam, Idukki, Alappuzha and Ernakulam districts, which fall in the 200-km radius of the plant.Contrary to the claims of the Union Government, nuclear power plants in the country are causing serious threats to the people living nearby. Health surveys held in Ravatbhata (Rajasthan) and Jaduguda (Jharkhand) have found serious health problems among the public, including genetic disorders, leukemia and thyroid problems.The committee leaders demanded reconstitution of the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board with more independence, detaching it from the Department of Atomic Energy. They said the successive governments were not focusing on safe and renewable energy sources owing to the lobbying of multi-national corporates.The committee wants the Centre to stop the functioning of the plant to initiate discussions. It also wants the government to scrap the project, the leaders said. S P Udayakumar, N Subrahmanian, C R Neelakandan, T Peter, K Ramachandran, Razak Paleri, Jiyo Jose and M N Giri attended the news conference.
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