CHENNAI: Amid continuing protests demanding scrapping of the Koodankulam Nuclear Power Project (KKNPP) citing safety concerns, Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) chairman Sreekumar Banerjee and NPCIL CMD S K Jain on Friday held detailed discussions with Tamil Nadu Chief Secretary Debendranath Sarangi on the modalities for holding talks with representatives of the agitators on the issue. The meeting went on for 80 minutes at the Secretariat.Banerjee later told mediapersons that the 15-member expert committee constituted by the Central government will hold talks with the representatives of the agitators within a week or two depending upon mutual convenience. “I am an optimist” was the reply of Banerjee when a journalist asked whether he hoped to commence power generation in KKNPP within this year as scheduled.Banerjee expressed confidence that the issues and fears raised by the locals will be allayed with scientific reasoning. He said so far the discussions were limited to the scientific community. They now have to take it to the people by explaining various aspects in simple terms.Describing Friday’s discussions as very meaningful, Banerjee said he had sought an appointment with Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa, but indicated that there would be no need for an immediate meeting as she is aware of all developments. “It is not something that can be rushed through. It is not just sentiments that are to be addressed. The people’s fears and suspicions should be allayed, particularly, their psychological fears should be addressed. We have to be patient,” Banerjee said in response to a question on how to end the impasse. “I can only assure you this… the issues that have been raised by the print and electronic media can be addressed very adequately without any difficulty. The explanations should be understandable and in simple language so that the people can understand,” he added.Answering another question, he said every aspect of safety was considered before establishing the plant. It took seven long years to get the necessary environmental and other clearances stage by stage based on a huge volume of data. Seismicity, tsunami possibilities, radiation, impact on the livelihood of the local people etc were taken into consideration.
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