Kudankulam nuclear plant safest in the world: NPCIL

Chennai, Jan 11 (ANI): Technical Director of Nuclear Power Corporation Of India Limited (NPCIL), S A Bhardwaj on Wednesday termed the Kudankulam nuclear plant in Tamil Nadu as the safest power plant in the world.

Speaking to media in Chennai city, Technical Director of NPCIL, S A Bhardwaj said though they have constructed the plant imitating Russian design but it is based on Indian specifications.

"It is based on our specifications, what are our regulatory requirements, what are the Indian requirements and this plant therefore has been typically designed for us. To my mind as being a nuclear technologist, this is the safest nuclear power plant of the world," he said.

Despite repeated assurances, residents of Kundakulam have stepped up their protests in the past few weeks, aiming to ratchet up pressure on the government to shutdown the Kudankulam project, fearing a possible recurrence of the recent disaster witnessed in the Fukushima nuclear plant in Japan.

Bhardwaj further stressed that the plant does not pose any serious threat to the people of the state.

"There are rays which we use for purifying water that we use in plant, they will have some radioactivity. So this is the type of waste which a nuclear power station generates and these are very convenient to handle and they are handled right in the plant," he said.

Highlighting the need of nuclear power plants, Bhardwaj said at this point of time when prices of oil and gas prices are surging at fast pace, country needs such projects, which are cost and energy efficient.

"India is getting into the deep crises of power, deep crises because of the coal unavailability and oil and gas, as you know everyday the prices are going up. So nuclear is the answer. Yes, we will have as much of the solar power, as much of wind possible but that does not satisfy our need, therefore this is the demand of India," he added.

The project has also met the approval of former Indian President and country's eminent nuclear scientist, A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, who has vouched for the safety standards set up at the plant after visiting the site to check the existing mechanisms.

Established in a joint collaboration between India and Russia, the Kudankulam nuclear power project envisages to build two 1,000 MW VVER type reactors by end of December 2011.

However, in the wake of the Fukushima incident, several nuclear projects across India, such as the one at Jaitapur in western Maharashtra state, have run into rough weather as protesting locals and activists argued that such plants could adversely affect the environment. (ANI)