Jayalalithaa writes to PM, demands Kudankulam power

Chennai, April 25 (IANS) Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa Wednesday wrote to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh again, reiterating her demand that the state be allocated the entire 1,000 MW power to be generated from the first unit of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project (KNPP).

"Now I understand that nuclear fuel loading is going to take place in the next few days in the first Unit of the Plant of 1000 MW capacity. It is expected that criticality will be reached in the following 20 days or so, leading to power generation from the first Unit of the Plant," she said in her letter, the text of which was released to the media here.

Drawing the prime minister's attention to her earlier March 31, 2012, letter, Jayalalithaa said: "I would like to state that details with regard to action on the allocation of the entire power to be generated from the Koodankulam Nuclear Power Plant to Tamil Nadu are yet to be known."

"I take this opportunity to remind you of my earlier request. I am sure that you will do the needful by accepting the absolutely justified demand of our State," she added.

India's nuclear power plant operator Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) is setting up two 1,000 MW reactors at Kudankulam in Tirunelveli district, about 650 km from here.