Koodankulam Villagers To Return Voter ID Cards
By People’s Movement Against Nuclear Energy
07 May, 2012
Countercurrents.org
Let's leave an Earth where our children and grandchildren can all play without worries." : Yoko Kataoka, a retired baker from Japan
At 3 PM on May 6, 2012, the Struggle Committee, the community elders, women and youth met at the Committee Room near the St. Lourdes Church at Idinthakarai.
After long deliberations and discussions, we decided to return all of our Voter ID cards on May 8, 2012 protesting against the callous attitude of the Government of India and the Government of Tamil Nadu. When they do not respect the hunger strikers’ lives and our people’s interests, we do not want to vote for these selfish and anti-people mainstream politicians and political parties. We intend to return the cards to the Radhapuram Tahsildar (county administrator).
We request all our supporters in Tamil Nadu and the rest of India to return their Voter IDs to the local Tahsildar and express their opposition to the governments and show their solidarity with our campaign. Indians living abroad can return their Voter IDs to the Indian embassies in their respective countries.
The situation of the women hunger strikers is very grim as many of them are fainting one after the other. A medical team of 3 doctors and 5 nurses came to check the strikers’ health. As the strikers get weaker and weaker, the communities are becoming more and more concerned. But our governments care little as they care more for the interests of Russian, American and French nuclear companies.
In the meantime, the political leaders and nuclear officials continue to fool our people. The Central minister at the Prime Minister’s Office said the Koodankulam reactor would be commissioned in 40 days’ time. The Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu has said that power generation will start at Koodankulam reactor 1 within ten days (from May 5th). But the NPCIL officials say that the operation may start much later.
Interestingly enough, no one is telling the truth because the capacity factor in the Indian nuclear power plants is only 40 percent. One nuclear official told us personally in a TV debate that it could be 60 percent at Koodankulam. This means Koodankulam reactor 1 will produce only 400-600 MW and not 1,000 MW. And the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister wants all of it from Koodankulam. The Kerala Chief Minister, who did not even know if the Koodankulam reactors had started functioning when we met him a few months back, wants 500 MW. Koodankulam is going to be a big international joke.
The Struggle Committee
People’s Movement Against Nuclear Energy (PMANE)
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