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Nuclear threat: India turns down Lanka’s request
India has refused to accept a year-long request to have Sri Lankans to be part of safety committees in the event of a nuclear fallout at the Kudankulam Nuclear Plant in Tamil Nadu to be commissioned shortly, Atomic Energy Authority (AEA) Chairman Dr. Ranjith Wijayawardana said yesterday.
The matter was taken up by Sri Lanka when officials from both governments met during a two-day meeting in New Delhi a fortnight ago to discuss Sri Lankan concerns on the plant, but the Indian side remain non-committal.
Dr. Wijayawardana said the AEA sought to become a part of the Safety Monitoring Committee at Kudankulam. The controversial nuclear facility is some 160 kilometres from Sri Lanka’s North-Western coast.
“We are keen on keeping a close watch on the work at the plant and for this, Sri Lanka has sought permission from India to be part of the safety monitoring mechanism,” Dr. Wijayawardana said.
He conceded that Colombo’s concern regarding the safety issues surrounding the nuclear complex that is set to be commissioned before the end of the year was relayed to the relevant authorities in India one year ago, but Delhi had failed to respond until earlier this month.
On an invitation from New Delhi this month, a Sri Lankan delegation held talks with Indian officials and the issue was discussed at length, Dr. Wijeyawardana said.
He said Sri Lanka failed to obtain a firm assurance that it would be allowed to be on hand to monitor the functioning of the plant and more talks on the subject were put off for mid next year — after the scheduled commissioning of the plant, an indication that India was not willing to share information on the issue. “We have initiated a bilateral approach and we are hoping that India will cooperate in the best interest of everyone concerned,” Dr. Wijayawardana said.
Last week the Sunday Times reported that India was willing to provide an early warning system to Sri Lanka in case of a nuclear fallout from the plant.
“We have already put in place several precautionary measures that include the installation of five early warning devices. These devices, provided by the International Atomic Energy Authority (IAEA), have already been set up at naval outposts in Kankesanturai, Mannar, Delft Island, Kalpitiya and Colombo. Three more devices were to be installed in Galle, Trincomalee and Samanalawewa,” Dr. Wijayawardana said. He said a special task force comprising security forces officers, experts, volunteers and officials from the Disaster Management Centre (DMC) was also at hand to deal with a crisis situation.
Environmentalists, however, slammed Sri Lankan officials for failing to advise the Government on the dangers posed by this complex.
Hemantha Vithanage, executive director of the Centre for Environmental Justice and Friends of the Earth, said the AEA had failed to address the seriousness of the issue and advise the Government accordingly.
“In India there is a howl of protests against the plant, but Sri Lanka which is the closest country to the controversial complex has chosen to be on bended knees and listen to the dictates of Delhi. In case of a mishap at Kudankulam there is little Sri Lanka can do to stay out of the way, early warning systems or otherwise, since radiation particles travel fast,” he said.
Mr. Vithanage said the Sri Lankan coast was the most vulnerable.
“For example Puttalam is just 160 kilometres away from Kudankulam while Chennai is some 450 kilometres away and therefore India is not really bothered,” he said.
In addition concerns were also raised on the dumping of nuclear waste from the plant with fears that they might be pumped into the Indian Ocean which would lead to a disaster for marine life in the region, the environmentalist said.
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